News Disabled web access is 'being ignored'

This from the Register:

A study of 1,000 websites across the UK today revealed not only that most organisations breach guidelines on making sites accessible to disabled users and risk legal action under disability discrimination laws, but that the guidelines themselves may be inadequate.

Since March 2003, the Disability Rights Commission and the Centre for Human Computer Interaction at London's City University have been testing sites in the public and private sectors for technical compliance with the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

The DRC is an independent statutory body responsible for advising Government on the effectiveness of disability discrimination legislation. Representing the interests of Britain's 8.6 million disabled, the DRC is empowered by law to conduct formal investigations which meet these aims.

Of the 1,000 sites tested, 808 (81 per cent) failed on automated testing to reach the minimum standard for accessibility, known as Level A. But that does not mean that 19 per cent achieved the minimum standard; in fact, the likely level of accessibility is much worse.

Full and Lengthy articile here