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Equitable Life

I absolutely agree that it is time that the policyholders of Equitable Life had the justice that they deserve. They are in their current position because of a series of regulatory failures that go back many years, but sometimes Governments disagree with reports from ombudsmen; there have been five such occasions in recent years. As I said, I do not accept the ombudsman's conclusion that we should just accept the recommendations and then do nothing—she said on 23 January that that was her preference. I actually think that an ex gratia scheme is sensible, because there has been an injustice that we have accepted.