Occasionally, over the course of history, sufferers of mental illness have been venerated as prophets and seers. Far more often, they have been cast out of society and subjected to degrading abuse.

But modern society recognises that conditions such as schizophrenia and severe depression are chronic diseases. They affect the human organism just as cancers and viruses do. The fact that they attack the mind may make them more frightening, but it does not make them less tragic, nor any less a priority for treatment.

It is sad, then, that an old prejudice against the mentally ill endures not just in society at large, but in government. There can be no other explanation for the fact that mental health trust budgets are being stealthily cut. Financial austerity is biting into health services across the country, but the targeting of facilities for the mentally ill - a vulnerable group less able than most to advocate its cause - looks plain cynical. Schizophrenic patients are, after all, less likely to demonstrate against hospital closures than cancer patients. Mental illness is most prevalent among poor urban communities.

Today, The Observer reports some of the effects of millions of pounds' worth of cuts, from the young persons' service in Cambridge, which will shut its doors in 12 days' time, to the loss of a walk-in emergency clinic in south London. Facilities of this nature can identify the early stages of a psychotic illness and intervene. In so doing, they stop people becoming a danger to themselves and other people. They save lives. Their closure means an increased number of anxious, agitated, delusional and suicidal people on the streets. Untreated victims of mental illness already account for a shamefully high proportion of the prison population and the homeless.

Meanwhile, mental wards, overcrowded and understaffed, are unable to provide long-term treatment. Both the Mental Health Act Commission, which inspects hospitals, and a team commissioned by the National Patient Safety Agency have produced reports this year concluding that wards can be dangerous, untherapeutic environments.

Mental health services have been among the most deserving beneficiaries of increased spending under Labour. If NHS money is now running out, ministers should explain why the mentally ill are taking the hit first. If there is an explanation other than prejudice, we should like to hear it.