SIR KEIR STARMER was criticised today for “ignoring the enormous and deeply unfair barriers” disabled people face after he said more people on long-term sickness benefits should be looking for a job.

The Prime Minister said the government was looking to reduce the number of claimants, insisting support will be in place to help people get jobs.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he wanted to roll out schemes supporting people on long-term sickness returning to work, adding: “I think the basic proposition that you should look for work is right.”

Around 2.8 million people are out of work due to ill-health, of whom 85 per cent are long-term sick, according to NHS research.

National disability charity Sense’s head of policy Harriet Edwards said the PM’s comments “ignore the enormous and deeply unfair barriers that far too many disabled people face when it comes to job-hunting.

“Sense’s research shows half of jobseekers with complex disabilities don’t feel they have the support and equipment they need to look for a job.”