Asbestos victims to share £40m fund

- 07 July 2005

A £40 MILLION fund is to be set up to pay compensation to victims of asbestos from Barking's Cape Factory.

Cape Plc, which owned the factory in Harts Lane until the 1960s when it was closed, has established the fund to cover all UK claims made by former employees and their families, who have contracted mesothelioma or asbestosis as a result of exposure to deadly asbestos.

Martin May, chairman of Cape, said: "Cape's UK industrial activities used to involve working with asbestos, which we now know carries significant health risks.

"We are proposing to put a fund in place to deal specifically with UK asbestos-related claims.

"The intention of our proposal is that there should be enough money now and in the future to pay compensation to employees, past and present, their relatives or dependents and any other effected parties."

Bosses at Cape believe that the £40 million will cover the expected cost of claims for the next 12 years, although the fund will be independently reviewed every three years with Cape topping up any shortfall.

Experts predict that deaths from asbestos will continue rising until 2020.

Sally Moore from solicitors Leigh, Day and Co, specialises in asbestos claims.

She said: "The first worry is that there will not be enough money to compensate people properly.

"If they have underestimated liability in terms of future claims the money will be insufficient. I think the devil will be in the details."

Victim Katherine Carter from Parsloes Avenue, Dagenham, believes Cape had an obligation to set up the fund.

Mrs Carter's mother, aunt and uncle all worked at the Barking factory and she was diagnosed with asbestosis on both lungs in 1997 after she collapsed at work.

She said: "I think they've got a responsibility to do this. My mother used to wash hers' and my aunt's and uncle's clothes on a scrubbing board, but she'd always shake them first.

"That's probably where I've got it from. My brother also has it on one lung.

"It does make me think about putting in a claim. I know it's supposed to take years to go through, but it could help my family."

Tom Baillie, branch secretary for the GMB Union, said: "I think it will be a bit of help, but it's actually too little too late because in 13 years' time we will still have people dying from asbestos.

"Are Cape going to take responsibility for what they've left behind and clear it up?"

For more details about the fund, call 0845 1 302029.