John MacDougall was suing Govt over disease that killed him
The Labour MP whose death has prompted the la-*test*-('") by-election to threaten Gordon Brown's premiership was suing the Government for refusing to pay compensation for the illness that killed him, it has emerged. John MacDougall, the former MP for Glenrothes, launched a court action against the Ministry of Defence last December after his request for a £300,000 payout was refused. He believed that his lung cancer was contracted as a result of working at the Royal Naval dockyards in Rosyth in the 1960s and 1970s when he was exposed to asbestos. The revelation is embarrassing for the Prime Minister, who led tributes at Mr MacDougall's funeral last week, describing the illness as the "cruel legacy" of his exposure to asbestos. The MP, 60, was a close friend of Mr Brown, whose Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency neighbours Glenrothes. Among the other senior figures attending the ceremony was Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, who was ultimately responsible for rejecting the claim. Scott Brady, MacDougall's parliamentary researcher and friend, said it was "preposterous" compensation was not paid until after people with mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer, had died. He said: "The case is not yet settled and to me it is absurd that, with a disease that has a median survival rate of nine months, companies can be given over a year to make a compensation offer. "It is a horrific disease and no monetary figure could compensate for the deterioration in a person's health and their suffering. "But at least if there was a quick resolution it would be an awful lot easier on the family without that to worry about." snip http://tinyurl.com/58dekz
The Labour MP whose death has prompted the la-*test*-('") by-election to threaten Gordon Brown's premiership was suing the Government for refusing to pay compensation for the illness that killed him, it has emerged. John MacDougall, the former MP for Glenrothes, launched a court action against the Ministry of Defence last December after his request for a £300,000 payout was refused. He believed that his lung cancer was contracted as a result of working at the Royal Naval dockyards in Rosyth in the 1960s and 1970s when he was exposed to asbestos. The revelation is embarrassing for the Prime Minister, who led tributes at Mr MacDougall's funeral last week, describing the illness as the "cruel legacy" of his exposure to asbestos. The MP, 60, was a close friend of Mr Brown, whose Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency neighbours Glenrothes. Among the other senior figures attending the ceremony was Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, who was ultimately responsible for rejecting the claim. Scott Brady, MacDougall's parliamentary researcher and friend, said it was "preposterous" compensation was not paid until after people with mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer, had died. He said: "The case is not yet settled and to me it is absurd that, with a disease that has a median survival rate of nine months, companies can be given over a year to make a compensation offer. "It is a horrific disease and no monetary figure could compensate for the deterioration in a person's health and their suffering. "But at least if there was a quick resolution it would be an awful lot easier on the family without that to worry about." snip http://tinyurl.com/58dekz