---

Equitable Life

I thank the Chief Secretary for the intervention, but that is just not good enough. I will outline the position, but I thought that he was intervening to tell us what he told us in October he would be able to do—go into the general election campaign with a clear pledge on amounts and a timetable. I am afraid that he has failed on both counts. I will answer his question when the time is right. It is pretty clear that the Chief Secretary's position is as I have described, and it is a terrible position for him to be in. I agree with my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Harborough (Mr. Garnier), who said that the Chief Secretary is playing a game with the public on this issue. He tried to set up an artificial dividing line between following the Chadwick process and fulfilling the ombudsman's recommendations. That is a false choice. We very much hope—[Interruption.] The Chief Secretary should listen for a moment. We very much hope that the Chadwick recommendations will comply with the ombudsman's recommendations. The Chadwick recommendations will, we hope, deliver the principal recommendations made by the ombudsman—that payments should be made to policyholders to reflect the losses arising from the failure to regulate Equitable Life properly. The Chief Secretary also considered the two issues of deceased policyholders and means-testing; it was noticeable that he did not rule in payments to estates and that he did not rule out means-testing. I am afraid that very little comfort was given there. His speech contained nothing about amounts or timing, both of which are of the utmost importance and were promised by him back in October. The hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink) made a notable intervention on the Chief Secretary; it left me confused about the hon. Gentleman's status. After the Conservative Whip was withdrawn from him, he sat as an independent, then as a member of the UK Independence party, then again as an independent. Then last week, he was part of the Canvey Island Independent party. Last Friday, his local papers reported that he had set up his own party, the Save our Green Belt party. The House of Commons Library has listed him as an independent, but he seems to be following the Labour Whip as he votes in the Division Lobby on crucial matters. I shall be interested to see under which party Hansard records his intervention. The hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) outlined the cumulative effect of foot-dragging and we wholeheartedly agree with him on that. The hon. Member for Leeds, North-East (Mr. Hamilton) talked about the danger of the Equitable Life issue becoming a party political football. I have to disagree; in fact, the last Opposition motion on the subject, tabled by the Liberal Democrats, had our full support, and I assume that the same will apply in reverse this evening. Unfortunately, the hon. Gentleman was not one of the Labour Members who voted in favour of that Opposition motion last October. My hon. and learned Friend the Member for Harborough pointed out the cynicism of delaying any compensation until after the election. He also rightly pointed out, as did the hon. Member for Leeds, North-East, that the vast majority of policyholders were or are of very modest means. The hon. Member for Brent, North (Barry Gardiner) said that nothing that the Government had done had made him more ashamed than the saga of Equitable Life. Bear in mind that the hon. Gentleman resigned from the Government in protest against his own party leader. Strangely, however, he did not support the Opposition motion on Equitable Life last October, when the chips were down. I should like to praise the work of my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Daniel Kawczynski) as co-chairman of the all-party group on justice for Equitable Life policyholders. He and I were elected for the first time in 2005; clearly, the Equitable Life issue predates that time. My hon. Friend has shown courage and done a great service to many people by taking on the co-chairmanship. He called for a better working relationship between EMAG and the Government and we wholeheartedly endorse that. The hon. Member for Luton, North (Kelvin Hopkins)—who, to be fair, did vote for the Opposition motion last October—showed us yet again that whatever the question, his answer is always more public ownership. He criticised us for our pledge to take into account the cost to the public purse of any compensation, but it is worth pointing out that that was a key recommendation of the ombudsman herself. My hon. Friend the Member for Banbury (Tony Baldry) made a strong and attacking speech, reiterating the powerful points made by my hon. Friend the Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) about the damage done to our savings culture. He also called for speed in the compensation process, saying rightly that not much apparent progress had been made since July 2008. My hon. Friend the Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Mr. Field) pointed out that he first spoke about Equitable Life seven and a half years ago. Again, that shows how long this sorry saga of Government mishandling has lasted. As my hon. Friend put it, the safest course of action for the Government appears to be inaction. The hon. Member for Angus (Mr. Weir) reminded us of the importance of respecting the role of the ombudsman, while my hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon (Stephen Hammond) told us in a strong speech how he was ending where he started this Parliament: speaking up for his constituents about Equitable Life. He talked wisely about the importance of enhancing our savings culture in this country. The hon. Member for Cheltenham (Martin Horwood) also made important points about the speed of compensation. This all reminds me of the last time the issue was debated in the House. A sizeable number of Labour Back Benchers rebelled against the Government, voting for a motion from the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives. I ask those Labour Members to make their voices heard again, on behalf of Equitable Life policyholders, and to vote for the Opposition motion tonight. By refusing to take responsibility for the appalling delay in giving compensation, the Government are behaving once again like a soldier deserting his post. Their approach to this problem, like their approach to the deficit, is one of hoping that the problem will simply go away.