West Dunbartonshire MP Martin Docherty-Hughes is demanding a change to the law that would deliver justice for people with asbestos-related lung cancer.

“People who have lung cancer because they were exposed to asbestos at work are denied the full and fair compensation they need unless they can track down all the responsible former employers,” said Mr Docherty-Hughes, who has tabled an Early Day Motion to gather support from fellow parliamentarians on the issue.

“It can take many years for lung cancer to manifest after someone is exposed to asbestos, meanwhile the companies which exposed them disappear and insurance records are lost. Tracing them can be an impossible task. It leaves people without full compensation to provide the care and support they need to help them cope with their illness,” he explained.

“The Government could introduce legislation to reflect what is already in place for sufferers of mesothelioma, a strikingly similar asbestos-related cancer, who can recover full compensation from any one responsible employer in these circumstances,” said Mr Docherty-Hughes.

Mr Docherty-Hughes’s Early Day Motion (EDM 1223) is here: https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/60955

To date, 15 MPs, including Mr Docherty-Hughes, have supported the EDM.

Mr Docherty-Hughes is supporting a campaign by the Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum UK (AVSGF) and the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) for a change in the law.

Rob Rayner, Chair of AVSGF said: “Many people with asbestos-related lung cancer, who were exposed to asbestos at work through no fault of their own, have had to accept pitiful amounts of compensation because of an archaic anomaly in the law. A change to the law is long overdue. This issue only affects a small number of people, but the impact of this injustice on those people is devastating”.

The Forum’s press release can be found here: Forum Lung Cancer Press Release 9th June 2023