Hannah Cockroft is “afraid” of becoming disabled in Britain after the government's decision

Seven-time Paralympic gold medalist Hannah Cockroft said people with disabilities in Britain are “almost criminalized” in the way they are treated.

The UK government downgraded the role of Secretary of State for Disabled People to junior level last month.

An open letter signed by 57 sports bodies last week called for the reinstatement of this role.

“Britain is a really scary place for people with disabilities at the moment,” Cockcroft told BBC Sport.

“Paralympic athletes are seen as almost different from the rest of the disability community. We have shown what we can do, and almost everyone else with a disability is criminalized for what they cannot do or struggle to do. I feel the statement positions We Progress as One “

Dave Clark, chief executive of British Paralympics, said the downgrading of the ministerial role meant people with disabilities “don’t have a voice at the top level of government”.

Wheelchair racer Cockcroft says she faces great difficulties living her life in Britain, and praised sporting organizations for challenging the government.

“I still can't get on the train if there's no one with a ramp, I still can't get on the bus with my boyfriend, and I still can't get into a store if he has a step into it,” Cockcroft said. “Everything that affects people with disabilities in everyday life still affects me, no matter how fast I move down the path.

“Dave Clarke, it's great that he felt confident enough to realize that a voice was needed to push this forward and put it at the forefront of the government's minds.

“We have no one to fight us, and this is not a good place for six million people in the UK. We need someone to voice the things we need to change.”

Mims-Davies was appointed to the position in December within the Department for Work and Pensions as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State – the lowest rung on the ministerial ladder.

Davies' predecessor, Tom Borzglove, was a Minister of State when he held the post.

UK Athletics, British Cycling and the British Olympic Association are among the sporting organizations that have signed the open letter.

A government spokesperson told BBC Sport: “Minister Davies will build on this government's record of supporting people with disabilities, having provided millions in cost of living payments and helping more than a million disabled people into work five years ahead of schedule.”

“The Minister will help ensure there is always a strong safety net for the most vulnerable in our society, while removing barriers so that every person with a disability can fulfill their potential and thrive.”

For Cockroft, 2024 promises to be a life-changing year on and off the track.

She is competing in two major championships for the first time, with the World Para Athletics Championships taking place in Kobe, Japan in May, followed by the Paralympics in Paris from August 28 to September 8.

Cockcroft, 31, is looking forward to increasing her gold medal tally, but says preparing for two major events in one year is a challenge unlike anything she has faced before – although she welcomes it.

“I don't understand going to a major tournament and not wanting to win the gold medal. That's definitely the goal in Paris,” she said.

“But I had the world championships before then, so if I can add a few more titles it will be a great start to the Paralympic year. It's the first time in my career that I've got two major championships in the same year, so it's a big challenge to get everything right.” Not just the training, but everything around it.

“May and August seem really far apart, but if you don't have the rest and recovery to get it right, things can get worse very quickly.

“At the moment, things are the same as they usually are, but the difference I'll really start to see as we get into the World Championships. Right now, it's more of a mental challenge than a physical challenge, but time will tell – it's a completely new challenge, and 12 years on “Your international career, you don't usually have many firsts left. But I like the challenge.”

Cockroft hopes that the atmosphere and excitement witnessed by the London 2012 Paralympic Games will be repeated in Paris 2024, after two games that witnessed problems.

Rio 2016 was affected by budget cuts, while the Covid-19 pandemic forced the postponement of the Tokyo Games by a year until 2021, to eventually be held without fans.

“I really believe that Paris has the potential to be bigger than London,” she said. “The time difference from Rio didn't help us, and then the lack of crowds, Covid, and everything that happened around Tokyo didn't push para sport into the public eye.

“Paris is only an hour away from Britain. The coverage seems to be good, there are already quite a lot of companies and people, and things that were there before London seem to be coming back. That gives me great hope that it will be a big Olympics.” “And we have the same fans we had in 2012.”

On top of all this, Cockcroft will marry her fiancé, fellow Paralympic athlete Nathan Maguire, in October.

“It's a lot of pressure — the Paralympics, the World Championships, a wedding,” she said. “I've pretty much collected the things people do in their lives into one year, but if you do it right, it could be the most amazing year ever.”