Disability campaigner Sir Bert Massie passes away

Disability campaigner, Sir Bert Massie, sadly passed away on Sunday after a battle with Cancer.

Tributes have come flooding in for the 68-year-old who was the former Commissioner for the Compact and spent his entire life campaigning for disability rights.

Massie was Commissioner from 2008, prior to the role being abolished by the coalition government in 2011 when the Commission for the Compact was closed down.

The Compact was an agreement set up by the Labour government in 1998 to set out the working relationship between the public sector and the central and local government.

Massie continued to be a vocal campaigner of the Compact, as well as a member of the former Panel on Independence of the Voluntary Sector, which previously published reports on the independence of charities.

Commenting on his passing, NCVO chief executive Sir Stuart Etherington said: “[Massie] was a doughty campaigner for people with disabilities and he also played a strong role as an erudite commentator for the wider voluntary sector.

“He was also a magnificent chairman of the former Disability Commission. More than that, he was just a lovely man.

“As commissioner of the former Commission for the Compact before its abolition in 2011, he defended the work of voluntary organisations in a vigorous manner.

“Bert also made a valuable contribution as a member of the former panel on the independence of the voluntary sector, and his thoughtful commentary on the future of civil society will be much missed.”