DYING victims of asbestos will receive compensation from a fund to be paid into by the insurance industry, the Government is poised to announce.
Ministers will bow to pressure to do more for the forgotten sufferers from asbestos exposure by setting up a "fund of last resort", where their employers cannot be traced.
A £70m package, to be announced as early as today, will also include a research centre into asbestos-linked diseases and more money for victims of the deadly cancer mesothelioma, unions have been told.
However, Justice Secretary Jack Straw will face a backlash when he confirms that future sufferers from “pleural plaques” – a condition that can trigger mesothelioma and lung cancer – will be unable to win compensation.
Only the existing 6,500 sufferers will receive "no fault" pay-outs – and only of up to £5,000. They will be funded by the taxpayer, rather than insurance companies.
