Welcome to Industrial Injuries

After Stephen Hepburn, MP for Jarrow, asked Blair to address the issue of employers who fail to compensate employees with asbestos-related disease at Prime Minister's Questions this week, the Prime Minister has agreed to meet MPs to discuss the issue.

The MPs want the government to reverse a legal ruling made by the House of Lords by tabling a brief amendment to the Compensation Bill. Over thirty MPs have signed a Commons motion asking for action.

Responding to Hepburn, Blair pledged to "provide some comfort and succour" to workers in the next few weeks.

The MPs will meet with Blair in Parliament on Wednesday 7 June. Hepburn said, "The Prime Minister understands the concerns and listened very intently as I suggested that the law must be changed so people get their proper compensation, because the status quo is not acceptable."

The amendment in question was proposed by the law firm Thompsons, which acted for one of the unsuccessful claimants in the Barker case. It states that when more than one employer could have exposed a worker to asbestos fibres, each of them would be liable for the full amount of compensation.

The clause seeks to overturn the House of Lords' ruling that in situations where more than one employer could have exposed a worker to asbestos, each employer would only be liable for a share of the damages. Vernon Barker had worked for John Summers and Sons in Deeside. He was exposed to asbestos while working there, as well as for another company, and during 20 years of self-employment. He died in 1996 aged 57 and his widow, Sylvia Barker, was awarded £152,000 in the High Court in 2003.

Thompsons solicitors representative, Tom Jones, said that the next move would be to try to gain trade union backing for the proposed legislation.

The lung disease mesothelioma can lie dormant for up to 40 years, before developing into a terminal illness. It's a painful and fatal form of cancer that attacks the lining of the lungs. The only known cause in the UK is exposure to asbestos. The cancer kills about 1,900 people each year in the UK.

MPs believe that the Barker ruling will have a devastating effect on victims and their families as it's likely to affect the level of compensation received. Mesothelioma is likely to claim the lives of thousands of workers over the next ten years.

John Denham MP has already written to the Department of Constitutional Affairs and asked the government to press insurance companies to work together to compensate those in need. Last week, John Hutton, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said he wanted to work with the insurance industry to speed up the settlement of asbestos claims.