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Thalidomide Survivors

I thank my hon. Friend for his comments, and I pay tribute to his work and that of the all-party group, which has strongly supported the national advisory council in its campaign. I agree that Nick Dobrik, Guy Tweedy and their colleagues have been robust in their campaign. I have on occasion been robust in response, but I have also sought, as my hon. Friend says, to apply an open mind to this matter. I have also sought to give a sense that I care about how it has been dealt with in the past and that we needed to make progress and identify a way to help the thalidomiders to deal with some of the health issues that they have convinced me that they would face if we did not provide this support. When I talked to some of the family members, it struck me that the expression of regret was important for them. It is also important for many of the thalidomiders in terms of recognising that some of the families who care for the most severely disabled thalidomiders have had a very difficult time for a long period. I pay tribute to the care that those families provide—they do this out of love and for no other reason. It is important to many of them that a statement of regret should come from a Minister on behalf of the Government collectively in this way and that, coupled with it, some extra help should be provided.