The following has been supplied by the TUC:
People with deadly work-related diseases are demanding justice secretary Ken Clarke ditches his 'abhorrent' reforms that would force them to pay two new fees. The Daily Mirror is backing a campaign by asbestos disease victims, who say they will have to fork out thousands of pounds to claim compensation for their fatal illnesses. On 14 February, prime minister David Cameron backed the reforms, outlining at a Downing St convened 'insurance summit' the measures he deemed necessary to 'to tackle compensation culture, reduce legal costs and cut red tape'. However, campaigners for people affected by industrial injuries and diseases - who were not invited to the PM's summit - are warning thousands of blameless workplace victims will be put off pursuing claims. The new system would require upfront fees and would reduce payouts. Shadow justice minister Andy Slaughter said: 'The government says their reforms will stop whiplash claims. But they're not just stopping whiplash cases, they're also trying to stop serious industrial disease and workplace injury cases. This is all part of a campaign to protect insurance companies and badly behaving industrial giants at the expense of people who worked hard all their lives and did nothing wrong.'
