---

Equitable Life

It will stick in the throat of many Equitable Life policyholders to see how the Government have reacted to that situation compared with their own. The scheme that is being talked about could keep the lawyers in business for years if not decades, because so many parts of it are unclear. For all that the Minister said about the Chadwick process being quicker, it does not seem to have proved to be quicker than what the ombudsman proposed all those years ago. Had the Government accepted their responsibilities at that time, a scheme could have been up and running, policyholders could have been compensated and this injustice could have been righted long ago. The endless arguments will continue. I appeal to the Minister, even at this late stage, to give justice to policyholders quickly and to produce a scheme that is even-handed and simple—one that ensures that my ageing constituents do not have an interminable wait to see whether they are to be compensated and that they get some compensation before it is far too late for them.