'Failing on rights for protest, disability, migrant workers'

A FAILURE by Government to "uphold basic rights" of protesters, migrant workers and disabled people has been criticised by the equalities watchdog.

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The new chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), who took up her post at the beginning of December, has written to ministers to urge them to "ensure rights are protected across the nation".

Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson highlighted areas where "key human rights" are not being guaranteed for certain groups.

She said: "The Government has made commitments to protect everyone's fundamental human rights. While there has been progress in some areas, it is failing to uphold basic rights in others particularly by permitting heavy-handed responses to peaceful protests, failing to ensure disabled people can access healthcare on a level playing field with others, and allowing labour exploitation to go unchecked for certain workers.