BCODP was founded in 1981, the United Nations International Year of Disabled Persons (IYDP).
Vic Finkelstein was especially keen to build 'a mass movement' of disabled people in Britain.
[2] BCODP linked with the Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Leeds to provide the organisation with high-quality research capacity, and in particular to support the case for new anti-discrimination legislation (ADL) for civil rights for disabled people.
[4] BCODP was prominent in the campaigns and protests which led to the (flawed) Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
The organisation was formally closed down by the Charity Commission in 2017, having made it last member of staff redundant in 2013.