sickness

He said 2.8 million people were currently on long-term sickness benefits and added that, if the government did not act, the level would rise to more than four million.

Some 2.8 million people are economically inactive because of long-term sickness, the department said.

Other experts place the emphasis on financial incentives in the welfare system - where people can get higher payments for being on sickness benefits than from being unemployed or in low-paid, part-time work.

A Department of Health spokesperson said the government was "shifting focus from sickness to prevention".

But it’s also a signal, a green light to the everyday extremists who enjoy human suffering and have now been told their sickness is not just acceptable, but wonderful.