news story

27th January 2009

Local MP Speaks Out For Thousands of West Pensioners Over Equitable Life

Click here to read the debate

Northavon MP Steve Webb has this week led a debate in Parliament over the losses suffered by thousands of West pensioners who invested in Equitable Life.

Last Summer the Parliamentary Ombudsman found that there had been extensive 'maladministration' among financial regulators and others, which meant that policy holders had suffered multiple injustices.  She recommended that a compensation scheme be set up swiftly to correct these injustices. But in January the Government said that it would only set up a very limited hardship scheme, and only for those who had been 'disproportionately affected'.

Today Steve Webb condemned the Government's response, and called for justice for thousands of policy holders who have lost out. During the debate he quoted from some of the dozens of letters he had received from local residents who were outraged at the injustice they had suffered.

Commenting after the debate, Steve Webb said:

"When people invest they assume that the financial regulators are keeping an eye on the companies they invest with. In this case people were badly let down and many local people have suffered very badly.

"But instead of paying compensation for their losses, the Government has come up with yet more delay and no more than a hardship scheme for a few people. This is not justice, it is penny-pinching and it has to stop".

The debate was attended by dozens of MPs who joined in to add their support for the points being made by Steve Webb.

In response, Treasury minister Angela Eagle said that the Government would try to make sure that their scheme was introduced 'swiftly', but could not give a date for its implementation and would not indicate how many policyholders might be covered.

Steve Webb said he would keep up the fight on behalf of policy holders who had done nothing wrong other than to try to provide for their old age.