A MERSEYSIDE thalidomide victim has gone on hunger strike in protest at the Government’s refusal to pay compensation to those affected by the drug.
Gary Skyner, a comedian and public speaker from Aigburth, wants £8.5m a year to be paid to the Thalidomide Trust until 2037, as a way of supporting sufferers nationwide.
The 49-year-old and his mother Frances, 72, are refusing all food and will only consume vitamin pills, water and coffee until the Government agrees.
Mr Skyner was the second person in the UK to be born with deformities as a result of the drug, prescribed to treat morning sickness in the 1950s and early 60s.
He has no thumbs, wrists or elbows as a result.
The father-of-two said: “I am prepared to go all the way with this but we have been forgotten for too long, enough is enough.
“I was diagnosed with a cardiac complaint in April and will therefore most likely not have a normal life expectancy.
“If this process has to accelerated because of our cause, then so be it.
