MP meets with north-east WASPI campaigners to pledge support
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Gordon MP Richard Thomson has said that the Ombudsman’s unprecedented move to present its report on the WASPI scandal directly to Parliament is a clear indication that it does not trust the Westminster Government.
Mr Thomson, who has supported the WASPI campaign since becoming a MP, has pressed successive UK Pensions Ministers to put in place mechanisms to ensure swift payment of compensation to those affected as soon as possible on publication of the report.
He met this week with a group of local campaigners to sign a pledge of his support in their fight for justice in this Parliament and in the future.
MP Richard Thomson said: “The Ombudsman service was obviously concerned that submitting the report through the usual Government channels would result in it being kicked into the long grass.
“Those concerns were clearly justified when the DWP refused to comply with the Ombudsman’s recommendations.
“If the UK Government does not move quickly on the issue of compensation following the publication of the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s report, then it falls to Parliament to do the right thing.
“It is time for all MPs to step up to the mark, and act on their consciences.
“I would therefore urge all WASPI women and their supporters to write to their constituency Parliamentarians and aspiring candidates of all political parties as we move toward the General Election to seek their commitment for a swift and secure compensation scheme to be established.
“I commend the tenacity and diligence of the WASPI women in their quest for a just compensation package for all those who have been unfairly and disproportionately deprived of years of retirement and the security of their pension entitlement.
“At the beginning of the campaign, WASPI women were fighting for compensation on behalf of 3.8 million pensioners, now there are just 3.5 million - they need action now.”
