by Cary Gee
Construction union UCATT plans to target the constituencies of two Cabinet ministers – Justice Secretary Jack Straw and Environment Secretary Hilary Benn – as it continues its fight to reverse a House of Lords decision that ended a 20 year right to compensation for victims of pleural plaques – scarring of the lungs caused by exposure to asbestos.
Campaigners are disappointed that a recent consultation paper on pleural plaques concluded the Government “is not minded” to overturn the Law Lords decision. Mr Benn’s Leeds Central constituency has suffered the highest number of asbestos-related deaths in Yorkshire.
The issue of asbestos-related illness returned to the headlines after the death of John MacDougall, 60, Labour MP for Glenrothes, from mesothelioma, an incurable cancer which attacks the lining of the lungs and can be caused by asbestos.
Jim Hood, Labour MP for Lanark and Hamilton East, described his death as “a devastating loss to his family and to the Labour Party in Parliament.” Gordon Brown praised Mr MacDougall’s contribution to public service, calling him “a true servant of the people” whose death resulted from “the cruel legacy of exposure to asbestos”.
Mr MacDougall pioneered free transport for the elderly as well as lobbying for investment to replace jobs lost in mining and at his former employers at Rosyth naval base, where he was exposed to asbestos. At the time of his death, he was suing the Ministry of Defence for compensation after his request for a £300,000 payout was rejected.
About The Author
