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Osborne's Philpott remarks spark row Mick Philpott case: George Osborne benefit comments spark row
(about 14 hours later)
Chancellor George Osborne's remarks on whether the state should pay for the lifestyles of people like Mick Philpott have sparked a political row. Chancellor George Osborne is at the centre of a political row after questioning whether the state should "subsidise" the lifestyles of people such as Mick Philpott.
Father-of-17 Philpott was jailed for life after being convicted of killing six of his children in a house fire. Unemployed father-of-17 Philpott was jailed for life on Thursday for killing six of his children in a house fire.
Mr Osborne said a debate was needed about whether the state should "subsidise lifestyles like that". Mr Osborne said there was a "question for government and society" about the influence of benefits on behaviour.
But shadow chancellor Ed Balls condemned Mr Osborne's comments as "a cynical act of a desperate chancellor". But Labour condemned the comments as "a cynical act of a desperate chancellor".
Former Lib Dem minister Sarah Teather also said she was "shocked and appalled" by the "unsophisticated, clumsy political arguments" advanced by Mr Osborne. Philpott was convicted of manslaughter, along with his wife Mairead and friend Paul Mosley, over an arson revenge plot that went wrong.
Mr Osborne, who this week has been defending cuts to housing benefit and other welfare changes, said: "Philpott is responsible for these absolutely horrendous crimes and these are crimes that have shocked the nation; the courts are responsible for sentencing him. 'Proper debate'
Much of the coverage of the trial focused on Philpott's lifestyle and the fact that his wife and his mistress Lisa Willis had lived with him at the three-bedroom council house in Derby with 11 of their children until Miss Willis moved out in February 2012.
Philpott received more than £8,000 a year in child benefit for his 11 children, as well as the income support and wages paid to his wife and mistress, which went into his bank account.
He had already achieved tabloid notoriety as "Shameless Mick" and "Britain's biggest scrounger" before his trial began.
In 2006 he appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show, on ITV, to demand a bigger council house.
Mr Osborne, who has been defending government cuts to housing benefit and other welfare changes, which came into force this week, said: "Philpott is responsible for these absolutely horrendous crimes and these are crimes that have shocked the nation; the courts are responsible for sentencing him.
"But I think there is a question for government and for society about the welfare state - and the taxpayers who pay for the welfare state - subsidising lifestyles like that, and I think that debate needs to be had.""But I think there is a question for government and for society about the welfare state - and the taxpayers who pay for the welfare state - subsidising lifestyles like that, and I think that debate needs to be had."
However, the shadow chancellor has criticised his intervention. But, in a blog post, Labour's shadow chancellor Ed Balls was highly critical of his opposite number, saying: "George Osborne's calculated decision to use the shocking and vile crimes of Mick Philpott to advance a political argument is the cynical act of a desperate chancellor."
In a blog post, Mr Balls said: "George Osborne's calculated decision to use the shocking and vile crimes of Mick Philpott to advance a political argument is the cynical act of a desperate chancellor." Mr Balls demanded "a proper debate about welfare reform".
Mr Balls highlighted the need for "a proper debate about welfare reform".
"But for the chancellor to link this wider debate to this shocking crime is nasty and divisive and demeans his office," he added."But for the chancellor to link this wider debate to this shocking crime is nasty and divisive and demeans his office," he added.
Ms Teather said she was "shocked and appalled that George Osborne has stooped so low as to make a crude political point out of the tragic deaths of six young children". Former Liberal Democrat education minister Sarah Teather joined in the criticism, saying she was "shocked and appalled that George Osborne has stooped so low as to make a crude political point out of the tragic deaths of six young children".
"It is deeply irresponsible for such a senior politician to seek to capitalise on public anger about this case, and in doing so demonise anybody who receives any kind of welfare support," the MP for Brent Central said."It is deeply irresponsible for such a senior politician to seek to capitalise on public anger about this case, and in doing so demonise anybody who receives any kind of welfare support," the MP for Brent Central said.
"Mr Philpott should be held fully accountable for his awful actions and it is reprehensible to seek to explain it away by blaming the welfare system which Osborne has been so happy to wage war on.""Mr Philpott should be held fully accountable for his awful actions and it is reprehensible to seek to explain it away by blaming the welfare system which Osborne has been so happy to wage war on."
Philpott was convicted of manslaughter, along with his wife Mairead and friend Paul Mosley, over an arson revenge plot that went wrong. But Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps backed the chancellor.
He was told he would serve a minimum of 15 years in prison, while Mairead and Mosley were told they would serve at least half of their 17-year sentences. He said: "I think we should be proud of having a welfare system that looks after the most vulnerable in our society. It's a proper safety net. Of course there a proper debate to be had about where this should begin and end, and of course that case highlighted some of the extremes."
Much of the coverage of the trial focused on unemployed Philpott's lifestyle and the fact that his wife and his mistress Lisa Willis had lived with him at the three-bedroom council house with 11 of their children until Miss Willis moved out in February 2012. Philpott has been told he will serve a minimum of 15 years in prison, while Mairead and Mosley were told they would serve at least half of their 17-year sentences.
The prosecuting lawyer told the jury: "Michael Philpott did not want to work. He just wanted a house full of kids and the benefit money that brings." During the trial, the prosecuting lawyer told the jury: "Michael Philpott did not want to work. He just wanted a house full of kids and the benefit money that brings."
Philpott received more than £8,000 a year in child benefit for his 11 children, as well as the income support paid to his wife and mistress, which went into his bank account. Mr Osborne has dismissed claims that his benefit reforms mark the end of the welfare state as "shrill, headline-seeking nonsense", arguing instead that they encourage people to work rather than rely on payments.
After his conviction, debate has raged over claims by some commentators that Philpott was the product of an over-generous welfare state.
AN Wilson, writing in The Daily Mail, said: "The particular manner in which his nastiness was exercised, and the way in which he lived, was the direct consequence of his being able to live scot-free at the expense of the taxpayer."
He later told the BBC: "This is a freak case. But this was a man who had 17 children and one of the underlying motives for this crime is that he was angry with one of the girlfriends, Willis, who took away from him five children and in so doing so took away £1,000 a month.
"It isn't an insult to the dead children to say one of the reasons he was free and easy about having more children was that he drew benefits on their behalf."
'Evil acts'
But Owen Jones, an Independent columnist and author of Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class, argued: "The idea he is representative of people on benefits is as absurd as suggesting Harold Shipman is representative of doctors.
"His lifestyle was partly funded by in-work benefits and the pay packets of the women who were working."
Mr Osborne has dismissed claims that his welfare reforms mark the end of the welfare state as "shrill, headline-seeking nonsense", arguing instead that they encourage people to work rather than rely on benefits.
But critics, including church groups and the Labour Party, have accused ministers of unfairly targeting poor people.
Shadow work and pensions minister Stephen Timms said Philpott and the others convicted on Thursday were solely responsible for their "evil acts".
"It is wrong to link those acts with the debate about welfare, and George Osborne should not be doing so, even implicitly," he said.
The government should recognise that people on benefits "are as shocked and disgusted by the callous killing of these children as anyone else in Britain", added Mr Timms.
Philpott had already achieved tabloid notoriety as "Shameless Mick" and "Britain's biggest scrounger" before his trial began.
In 2006 he appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show, on ITV, to demand a bigger council house. The following year he was in a documentary with Ann Widdecombe, who was then a Conservative MP and tried to get him a job.