Asbestos on the Parliamentary Agenda 2026 

by Laurie Kazan-Allen

 

 

In the run-up to International Workers Memorial Day (April 28), the Asbestos Sub-Group of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Occupational Safety and Health held a two-hour event entitled: Asbestos: Protecting Tomorrow’s Victims, Protecting Today’s Patients. The afternoon session took place in Committee Room 9 which had the space to accommodate the dozens of parliamentarians, clinicians, legal practitioners, patients’ representatives, victims’ campaigners, activists and civil servants who attended.

 


Committee Room 9, House of Commons. Photographer Nile Ateem. Picture courtesy of Mesothelioma UK.

The April 15th meeting was opened by Warinder Juss, the MP for Wolverhampton West, who agreed to step in as the chair at the last minute when Ian Lavery, Chair of the Asbestos Sub-Group, was detained in the Commons Chamber. Prior to becoming an MP, Warinder had practiced as a solicitor specializing in clinical negligence at Thompsons Solicitors; although, he said, he had not had any asbestos cases himself, he was familiar with the issues involved. Thanking delegates for their participation, Warinder reported that immediately before the session a fellow MP had recommended that a Task Force on Asbestos be established. Everything that was said during the presentations and discussions which followed supported that recommendation.

Having concluded his introductory remarks, Warinder introduced Amanda Jones, national head of asbestos at Thompsons Solicitors. For many people in Llanelli, West Wales, her home town, “asbestos was not an abstract policy issue or a historical footnote – it is a lived experience.” After nearly 30 years as an asbestos litigator Ms. Jones had concluded that:

  • “banning asbestos was essential, but it was never sufficient on its own;”
  • a regulatory “system built around long-term management rather than planned removal will continue to fail;”
  • “asbestos left in situ is rarely left untouched forever, and accidental disturbance is not uncommon;”
  • “unless we move beyond perpetual management towards planned, phased removal – beginning with the highest-risk setting – we are simply postponing future harm and future deaths.”

It was shocking to hear details of some of the current mesothelioma cases being handled by solicitors at her office. They included clients who were 21, 30 and 42 years old, none of whom had ever worked with asbestos. According to Amanda, these cases were not caused by historic failures of knowledge but by “contemporary failures of control, competence and accountability.”

 


Mesothelioma UK CEO Liz Darlison addressing the meeting. Photographer Nile Ateem. Picture courtesy of Mesothelioma UK.

I have heard Liz Darlison, the CEO of Mesothelioma UK, on previous occasions and she has the enviable skill of turning information into insights. She did so again on April 15th when she told the meeting that since Mesothelioma UK was formed in 2004 50,000 Britons had died from mesothelioma, the signature cancer associated with asbestos exposure. Her talk was as informative as it was distressing. Shocking revelations made during her presentation included the following:

  • the arbitrary and sudden decision by the NHS to withdraw funding for operations on peritoneal mesothelioma patients; this was, fortunately, overcome after a compromise was reached “allowing the surgery to proceed on rigorously selected patients; 
  • the lack of a national mesothelioma inquiry or public inquest despite the huge death toll (50,000) unlike the high-profile actions taken over the contaminated blood scandal (~3,000+ fatalities), Hillsborough disaster (97), Grenfell fire (72), and post office scandal (13);1
  • the huge rise in mesothelioma mortality amongst school staff, NHS personnel and healthcare workers;
  • the traumatic experiences reported by bereaved families in dealing with coroners and police following mesothelioma deaths;
  • the lack of national funding for mesothelioma research.

It was stunning to hear how much Mesothelioma UK had achieved but disturbing to learn of the complacency shared by governments of all persuasions. I know I was not the only one in the room gripped by Liz’s talk. At the evening reception which followed the formal event, I overheard two people quoting the figure of 50,000 and shaking their heads in bewilderment.

The next speaker was Consultant Respiratory Physician Professor Nicholas (Nick) Maskell from Bristol who expanded on some of the subjects briefly mentioned by Liz. He was well-placed to do so as the head of the mesothelioma service of the North Bristol NHS Trust which diagnoses 100 cases of mesothelioma every year.

 


From left: Liz Darlison, Jerry Hague, Nick Maskell addressing the meeting, MP Warinder Juss, Mike Harding, Amanda Jones, MP Ian Lavery. Photograph courtesy of Richard Blunt.

Nick got straight to the point:

“It is a national disgrace that the UK currently has the highest incidence of mesothelioma anywhere in the world, with 2,700 new cases diagnosed each year. Almost all are secondary to asbestos exposure. Gone are the days where this was a disease of laggers, railway and power station workers. These are now teachers, school cooks, electricians, plumbers, university and NHS workers – I have diagnosed someone in each of these work groups over the past year – something that is mirrored across the country.”

Action points he flagged up were, the need for:

  • a UK asbestos register of all government buildings and a risk register facilitating the prioritization of the worst affected buildings as part of a national asbestos eradication program;
  • revised coroner and police protocols for dealing with mesothelioma deaths;
  • a government funded system of NHS mesothelioma networks and audits for England and Wales (Scotland already has one!);
  • 20 Mesothelioma Centres of Excellence strategically located throughout the country so that no patient has to travel far for treatment; there are currently 6.

Returning to the starting point of his presentation, Nick reinforced his account of systemic and persistent failures concluding as follows:

“One would have thought that having the highest incidence of mesothelioma anywhere in the world the funding for mesothelioma would be secure. Yet it received less than 1% of all funding for cancer over the past 5 years – with only a few NIHR [National Institute for Health and Care Research] funded studies in the last decade.”

Either by clever planning or a stroke of serendipity, the day before the Parliamentary event I participated in a Microsoft Teams meeting with trade union officers belonging to the TUC’s Asbestos Committee.2 The online session was chaired by trade union leader Michael (Mike) Phillips of the NASUWT, the teachers’ union. On April 15, I met Mike in Parliament and it was strange to adjust my initial 12” x 22” first impression to a life-size image!

With his NASUWT hat on, Mike’s presentation in Parliament highlighted the consequences of asbestos exposures to teachers who have, he said “a statistically significant higher risk of developing mesothelioma than the general population.” This was a result of historic exposures in schools but the situation nowadays is also grim with almost 18,000 schools in England still contaminated!

Whilst children are at particularly high risk, staff are also endangered by the continued presence of deteriorating asbestos-containing products in their workplaces:

“It is essential, therefore, that the Government prioritise the removal of asbestos from school buildings, and clamp down on the recent spate of children’s toys being sold in the UK that contain asbestos. At current building rates it will take over 350 years to remove asbestos from schools.”

NASUWT, the TUC and a coalition of over thirty trade unions endorsed recommendations made in 2022 by the Work and Pensions Select Committee that called for a phased national eradication program with a forty-year deadline for the removal of asbestos from public and commercial buildings. The Conservative Government rejected this and the Committee’s other recommendations out of hand.3

Switching roles, in his capacity as Chair of the TUC’s Asbestos Committee, Mike endorsed the call made from the floor for government action on the hazard posed to retail staff, refuse collectors and postal workers by the delivery and collection of asbestos-contaminated sand, playsets and toys being sold in the UK.4 He confirmed that discussions about this were proceeding amongst trade union colleagues.

 


Retired firefighter Mike Harding addressing the meeting. Photographer Nile Ateem. Picture courtesy of Mesothelioma UK.

The following talk by retired firefighter Mike Harding was an emotional rollercoaster. After all we had heard that afternoon about the deadly effects of asbestos exposures and the limited life expectancies of mesothelioma patients, here was a living example of the physical consequences of the poor governance, enforcement failures and weak leadership which had created the UK’s mesothelioma epidemic. Mike began his talk by thanking the organizers for the opportunity to speak on behalf of firefighters; his solicitor Laura Morrison (of Thompsons Solicitors) for her pro-active legal representation; and the London Asbestos Support Awareness Group, for their one-to-one support.

In 2024, at the age of 72, Mike was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He had never been warned of the risks of asbestos when fighting fires or when handling debris. During his work as a fire investigator, he had never been provided with breathing equipment or a face mask. The continuing failure of the Government to eradicate the asbestos hazard from the built environment meant that today’s firefighters were still being exposed to asbestos fibers liberated by fires. “What worried me,” he said is that firefighters are still damping down fires and clearing debris without using respirators.”

As Mike was speaking MP Ian Lavery entered the committee room. He commented that he had recently been speaking to a Canadian delegation of firefighters who had informed him that firefighters affected by asbestos-related diseases received the same compensation as those who had been injured fighting a fire. He thanked Mike for his contribution and said that the UK must do better.5

Following a few follow-up questions, the session was drawn to a close as the room was needed for another meeting. Participants were invited to adjourn to the Thames Pavillion where they had the chance to discuss what they had heard.6

In the days since the Parliamentary asbestos discussions, I have been reflecting on the issues considered by the MPs, speakers and stakeholders. I was impressed by the high standard of all the presentations and the way they coalesced to create a wide-ranging and critical assessment of the status quo. From the lived experiences of a mesothelioma sufferer, to the legal torture of securing compensation, to the battle for timely and state-of-the-art medical care, to the solutions for eradicating the asbestos hazard, each subject was succinctly and straightforwardly explained. We were all better informed at the end of the session than we had been at the beginning. Should a vote have been taken there and then I am sure there would have been overwhelming support for the establishment of a National Asbestos Task Force!

April 28, 2026

_______

1 Liz was adamant that those enquiries and subsequent actions taken were justified but was at a loss to understand how and why the asbestos epidemic had been ignored by successive governments.

2 TUC: Trades Union Congress.

3 Kazan-Allen, L. Parliament Call for Asbestos Eradication Program. May 3, 2022.
http://ibasecretariat.org/lka-parliament-call-for-asbestos-eradication-program.php
Committee publishes Government response to asbestos management report. July 21, 2022.
https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/164/work-and-pensions-committee/news/172269/committee-publishes-government-response-to-asbestos-management-report/

4 Kazan-Allen, L. Primer: Asbestos in Play Sand and Toys 2025-26. April 17, 2026.
https://ibasecretariat.org/lka-primer-asbestos-in-play-sand-and-toys-2025-26.pdf
UK Asbestos Product Recalls between January 27, 2026 and April 16, 2026.
https://ibasecretariat.org/lka-uk-asbestos-product-recalls-jan-27-apr-16-2026.pdf

5 By sheer coincidence on April 16, 2026 – the day after Mike Harding’s presentation – it was announced that the UK Government would “back firefighters with tailor-made, research-backed health support during and after service,” by the implementation of a “Firefighters Concordat, focused on health and wellbeing and built in partnership with the profession - to drive improvements in prevention, early diagnosis and support.”
Joint UK Government press release. Firefighters to benefit from bespoke health support. April 16, 2026.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/firefighters-to-benefit-from-bespoke-health-support

6 Kazan-Allen, L. Asbestos in the Thames Pavillion! April 21, 2026.
https://ibasecretariat.org/lka-blog.php#a246

 

 

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