Join Nick Brown’s Campaign for Justice for Pleural Plaques Victims
The Government today announced that it is to hold a public consultation into the House of Lords decision that people living with pleural plaques are no longer eligible for compensation. My interest in this issue goes back a long way.
Before my election to Parliament I worked in Newcastle as the GMB’s legal officer. Our Union took forward pioneering legal cases for the victims of asbestos induced diseases.
I have been fighting hard within Government to have the Law Lords’ latest decision overturned. The consultation is potentially a victory for persistent trade union campaigning and a victory for the people of the North East.
Pleural plaques result directly from a person’s exposure to asbestos by breathing in asbestos dust. The condition can be a pre-cursor to mesothelioma, a wasting disease that is fatal. I have made my feelings known within Government about this – it is a regional issue, and it is also a class issue.
It is a regional issue because the victims are concentrated largely in the old industrial areas like our own. It is most prevalent amongst communities that were dependent on the ship-building, ship-repair, heavy industry and thermal insulation sectors.
It is also a class issue, in as much as the victims are overwhelmingly manual workers and their immediate families.
The Government’s consultation closes on October 1st, and I will be working hard throughout the summer to encourage as many of my constituents as possible to take part, and to make known the strength of feeling over this in the North East. If you would like to give the Government your views the consultation can be found on the Ministry of Justice website, or please get in touch with my office for more details.
