The mother of Jodey Whiting, a seriously mentally ill and disabled woman who killed herself after her benefits were wrongly cut off, has won an appeal for a fresh inquest into her daughter’s death. Whiting, from Stockton-on-Tees, took her own life in 2017, days after Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) officials stopped her benefits after she missed a fit-for-work test appointment. Her mother, Joy Dove, argued that the original 37-minute inquest, where she had no legal representation, was inadequate and that a second inquest was needed to fully examine the “multiple, significant failings” by the DWP and its possible role in her death. After Friday’s ruling, Dove said: “We buried Jodey just over six years ago and finally my family and I have the chance of getting justice for Jodey. Jodey is never going to be forgotten and her death was not in vain: she’s helping others and her legacy will live on. “We have always believed that the DWP wrongly stopping Jodey’s benefits caused her death … This is a victory not just for us but for all those families and others still on the receiving end of awful treatment by the DWP. I hope the DWP learn from their tragic failings.” The judge Lady Justice Whipple said in Friday’s ruling that a new inquest was “desirable in the interests of justice”. She said the public had a legitimate interest in knowing whether Whiting’s death was connected to the abrupt stopping of her benefits. A key factor in the ruling was fresh evidence provided by a psychiatrist, Dr Trevor Turner, who said Whiting would have “experienced shock and distress at the withdrawal of her welfare benefits and that the effect would have been heightened by her current difficulties, her isolation and her pain.” The judgment found it was appropriate to hold a new inquest to establish whether there was “any link or connection between the withdrawal of the welfare benefits and her mental state in the period leading up to Jodey’s death”. Dove’s solicitor, Merry Varney of Leigh Day, said: “Today’s unanimous ruling from the court of appeal means finally Joy and her family have the opportunity for the role of shocking failings by the DWP in the death of much-loved Jodey to be publicly investigated.” Whiting’s death was one of a number of high-profile tragedies in recent years that drew attention to mishandling of vulnerable claimants by DWP officials. A National Audit Office inquiry in 2020 found at least 69 cases between 2014 and 2020 where suicides could have been linked to problems with benefit claims. The DWP subsequently vowed to overhaul its safeguarding guidelines so that it provided support to vulnerable claimants rather than simply withdrawing their benefits. The DWP’s permanent secretary, Peter Schofield, said at the time: “We genuinely want to listen and learn.” A government spokesperson said after Friday’s ruling: “Our sincere condolences remain with Ms Whiting’s family. DWP is ready to assist the new coroner with their investigation. We cannot comment on active legal proceedings.” Whiting, whose DWP file had a red flag to alert staff to her mental health issues, had been ill with pneumonia and receiving hospital treatment for a brain cyst when she failed to open a letter from the DWP in February 2017 calling her in for a work capability assessment. When she did not attend the appointment, benefits officials automatically withdrew her employment and support allowance payments for breaching her benefit conditions. This in turn triggered the stopping of her housing benefit and council tax benefit. Although Citizens Advice wrote to the DWP on her behalf to explain her situation and request another assessment, benefits officials said they did not receive the letter. Her body was discovered by her mother six days later. A 2019 review of the case by an independent complaints body found the DWP guilty of five serious failings in its handing of the case. It found officials had in effect ignored Whiting’s poor health and circumstances, and it ordered the DWP to pay £10,000 damages. Dove subsequently fought for a new coroner’s investigation. The attorney general gave her permission in 2020 to apply to the high court for a fresh inquest, but the court rejected her application in September 2021.