Dead MP was suing government over asbestos

Dunfermline Press 28th August 2008

AN ASBESTOS support group hopes the tragic death of former Rosyth Dockyard worker and MP John MacDougall will force a change of heart from the UK Government on compensation awards.

Labour MP Mr MacDougall (60) was suing his own Government over his terminal lung cancer at the time of his death.

He believed the cause of the incurable mesothelioma was exposure to asbestos when he was working at the dockyard in the 1960s.

His friend, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, paid tribute to Mr MacDougall at the funeral and described his illness as a “cruel legacy”.

Defence secretary Des Browne and a predecessor in that role, John Reid, were also present.
However, it has now emerged that Mr MacDougall launched a court action against the Ministry of Defence in November after the Government turned down his request for £300,000 in compensation.

And whereas the Scottish Government is bringing forward legislation to help workers suffering from asbestos-related conditions, the same is not true at Westminster, where Mr MacDougall served for seven years.

The campaign group Clydeside Action on Asbestos will give evidence at the Scottish Parliament next week in a bid to make it easier for victims to claim.

In June, the Government at Holyrood unveiled a new bill aimed at entitling anyone in Scotland to raise an action if they contract pleural plaques.

The move would overturn a House of Lords ruling last year that workers were not entitled to compensation because the condition itself is not a disease.
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