CIVIL SERVICE union PCS called for “fundamentally flawed” work capability assessments to be scrapped entirely yesterday after the Tories hired US-based Maximus to run the scheme following Atos’s chaotic exit.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith confirmed there would be no changes to his scandal-hit policy aimed at forcing sick people off illness-related benefits.

French IT firm Atos walked away from the initial contract but not before it became notorious for pushing seriously ill people off benefits, leading to thousands of successful appeals.

Mr Duncan Smith claimed that Maximus would succeed where Atos failed by slashing a massive backlog and “provide a better experience for claimants.”

But PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka warned: “Replacing Atos with another private contractor does not address the real issues.

“The tests are failing disabled people as they were designed to do, in an effort to take benefits away. Doctors, MPs, disabled people and our members all believe the tests should be scrapped.”