THOUSANDS of benefit claimants are being subjected to verbal and physical abuse thanks to a government and media-led campaign to scapegoat them, campaigners said yesterday.

A YouGov poll of almost 2,500 adult benefit claimants found that 15 per cent had been verbally abused and 4 per cent physically attacked.

But Who Benefits? — which represents charities and campaign groups such as Crisis, Gingerbread and Mind — argued that with five million people claiming working-age benefits the snapshot suggested that almost 800,000 claimants were facing verbal abuse and 200,000 physical violence.

“We need to change the way we talk about benefits,” said Katharine Sacks-Jones of the Who Benefits? campaign.

“Until we do, hundreds of thousands of people will continue to face abuse and be denied essentials, whether it’s a bank account or a roof over their heads, simply because they receive some extra support to make ends meet.”