Miliband discusses asbestos condition

A leading politician has visited the north-east to discuss asbestos facts concerning compensation for pleural plaques.

David Miliband, the foreign secretary, visited a branch of Thompsons solicitors in South Shields to meet those who are campaigning for sufferers of the condition to be able to seek compensation.

Pleural plaques are scarring on the lungs which indicate past exposure to asbestos and are often found in people who then go on to develop mesothelioma, the fatal cancer caused by the material.

Sufferers of pleural plaques were able to seek compensation, until this right was reversed in October 2007 following a decision by the law lords.

Mr Miliband said that he will be discussing the issue with his colleagues in the House of Commons after attending the meeting.

Last week, the Burton Mail revealed a Leicestershire woman received £700,000 after it was ruled that her husband died of mesothelioma.

The legal team of Susan Smith, of High Street, Packington, near Ashby, originally entered a claim for £2,750,158.