In my own personal experience, the English middle classes and above are mainly concerned with projecting the right impression rather than doing the right thing (and the higher the social class, the worse it gets) and the Power over there is almost entirelly in the hands of the upper classes (Britain has maybe the lowest Social Mobility of all of Europe).

So this looks a lot like a bunch of posh twats deciding to give her the award because it made them look good, clearly without actually thinking about what being disabled is all about, so the thing ended up blowing up in their faces (such people get the power they get because of were they come from and having frequented the right schools, not due to competence)

After a few years living there I learned to disregard who and what the Establishment over there celebrates as it was invariably either "each other" or something that somehow enhanced their own image if they celebrated it (the so called Honors System - which is how things like Knighthoods are given - is a great example: only the rich or top politicians get Lordships, Knighthoods and Damehoods are for upper middle class, rich and celebrities, firemen and nurses who went far above and beyond their duty and risked life and limb for others only ever get minor awards)