Renfrewshire MP Mhairi Black has welcomed today’s announcement that veterans who contracted mesothelioma during their service will finally be given compensation.
Mhairi Black, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, described the decision as a ‘victory for campaigners’. The UK government had originally denied compensation but, following pressure from the Royal British Legion and others, veterans suffering from the asbestos-related cancer will now be given £140,000 lump sum payouts.
In December the UK government caved in to pressure to pay compensation to those veterans newly diagnosed with mesothelioma. Today’s announcement closes a loophole whereby those veterans who had been diagnosed prior to December had been left out of the compensation arrangements.
Mhairi Black MP said: “This is an important victory for campaigners who have fought long and hard to ensure military veterans suffering from mesothelioma are compensated fairly.
“I am delighted that the UK government has finally bowed to pressure and agreed to do the right thing by our veterans.
“It is to our shame that Veterans who developed mesothelioma from working with asbestos while in the Navy were – until now – left tens of thousands of pounds worse off than their civilian counterparts. This situation wasn’t just unfair, it was a completely unacceptable way to treat terminally ill veterans and a clear breach of the military covenant.
“Meeting the duty of care that we owe our service personnel must always be our top priority. I am glad this long-overdue decision will now go some way to righting this wrong.”