Concerns that compensation award will set 'dangerous precedent'

The government has rejected an accusation that its £5,000 compensation award for pleural plaque sufferers opens the floodgates for individuals with other symptomless conditions.

Shadow justice minister Lord Henley said the move “threatens to set a curious and potentially dangerous precedent”. Justice minister Lord Bach hit back, saying: “It will not, as there are no other symptomless conditions that have in law been regarded as compensatable damage for a long and settled period.”

Baroness Quin has expressed concerns that it would result in pleural plaque sufferers getting different treatment in Scotland and the rest of the UK.