<< Back to News
Honor Blackman joins Equitable Life victims for pensions demo
Paul Braithwaite, Honor Blackman and Vince Cable at EMAG's November 2009 rally
Victims of the Equitable Life scandal demonstrated outside Parliament this week where they were joined by Avengers actress Honor Blackman and MP Vince Cable to demand proper compensation for victims of the Equitable Life scandal.
Ms Blackman has her own Equitable pension, which she says has halved in value. “We did the right thing to provide for our retirement and look what happened” she said. “I know that many of the people joining us at the demonstration have been far more badly affected, and I want to show my support for EMAG’s campaign for justice.”
Hundreds of protesters from all over the UK stood behind 15 coffins, symbolising the 15 pensioners estimated to die that day, without receiving any compensation.
Several MPs joined the protesters, including Vince Cable, Tony Wright, Andrew Tyrie and David Davies.
“Regardless of the means of delivery, it is vital that Parliament asserts its authority to ensure that the people who have been affected by this scandal receive proper compensation quickly” said Vince Cable. “It’s not a question of charity, it’s a question of justice.”
Delegations of pensioners from different parts of the UK queued to present petitions to their MPs in the House of Commons.
In July 2008, the Parliamentary Ombudsman found “a decade of regulatory failure” but when the Government finally responded in January 2009, it was to dispute that some of the Ombudsman’s finding of maladministration had led to injustice. EMAG launched a Judicial Review to challenge this and was successful in having 3 of the main findings of injustice confirmed by the court.
The court’s decision will now force the Treasury to expand its payment scheme back to policies affected from 1991 rather than 1999 and the Treasury is due back in the Divisional Court on 18 November to explain how it intends to comply with the judgment.
350 MPs have now signed an early day motion calling on the Government to pay compensation.
<< Back to News
