Construction union applauds ruling on mesothelioma compensation

In June, the insurance industry launched a legal challenge in the High Court, arguing they should no longer have to pay compensation to asbestos victims at the time they were exposed.

A ruling in their favour would likely have saved billions in compensation payments. Mesothelioma and other conditions relating to asbestos exposure generally take 30 or more years to develop, by which point many workers would have retired and would no longer be insured.

Alan Ritchie, general secretary of UCATT, said: