PRESS RELEASE

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Campaigners for asbestos disease sufferers have welcomed the government's announcement that it will legislate to overturn a controversial decision made by the house of lords last month.

The lords' ruling on May 3rd in the case of Sylvia Barker v Corus cut asbestos compensation for the asbestos cancer, mesothelioma, for sufferers who had been exposed to asbestos in more than one job. The ruling has received widespread criticism from MPs, asbestos victims' groups and lawyers.

Today's announcement by Lord Falconer, the constitutional affairs secretary, and John Hutton, secretary of state for work and pensions, of an amendment to the compensation bill to reverse the law lords' decision follows a comment by the prime minister at a GMB union conference last week that he regretted the judgement and that he was looking for the best opportunity to change it.

Mrs Barker's solicitor, James Thompson, of specialist law firm John Pickering and Partners, commented: "Mrs Barker now has some hope for a fair outcome. If the legislation is enacted quickly and if it clearly and simply reverses the legal effect of the decision in Mrs Barker's case, it will restore some justice for mesothelioma sufferers. I urge all MPs to support the amendment to the compensation bill, as the many mesothelioma sufferers and their families affected by the house of lords decision are unable to receive full compensation until the law is changed. Their lives have been devastated and they need their compensation now."

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that mainly affects the lining around the lungs. Its only known cause is asbestos and it kills 1,900 people a year in the UK.

Mrs Barker was awarded £152,000 in the high court 3 years ago for the death of her husband, Vernon, from mesothelioma at the age of 57 in 1996. The law lords overturned the award in May this year, ruling that Mr Barker's former employers were only liable to pay partial compensation, because another employer that also exposed Mr Barker to asbestos dust could not be sued. In so ruling, the house of lords changed the law on compensation for mesothelioma, which previously enabled payment of full compensation even if some responsible employers could not be traced and sued.

During the second reading of the compensation bill in the house of commons earlier this month, a succession of MPs pressed the government to bring forward amendments to the bill to reverse the effect of the Barker ruling.