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Law firm agreed to shred vital data
Kevin Maguire
Monday September 27, 2004
The Guardian
A respected London legal firm signed a private deal to destroy documents in what it publicly hailed as a £7.5m "landmark" asbestos compensation settlement for South African workers, according to a confidential agreement obtained by the Guardian.
Leigh Day, a firm of solicitors with a reputation for fighting public interest cases, fought UK-based Cape plc all the way to the House of Lords to secure a deal for the former employees. The three-page unpublished memorandum discloses that as part of the deal, Leigh Day also agreed to be paid by Cape to prevent other legal teams obtaining papers uncovered during the litigation. It was eventually decided that instead of being shredded, the documents would be put in storage. Leigh Day was forced on to the defensive yesterday as a Labour MP vowed to raise the matter in the Commons and a group representing asbestos victims in Scotland condemned the lawyers. Clydebank & Milngavie MP Tony Worthington, said he applauded Leigh Day's battle on behalf of 7,500 former Cape employees in South Africa suffering asbestos-related illnesses but was shocked that the law firm had agreed to shred documents that could assist other claimants. "I thought it was a fundamental principle of British justice that you wouldn't have a settlement in a case if this would make it more difficult for the next group of sufferers to get justice," the MP said. Leigh Day secured legal aid to sue Cape in Britain over its operations in South Africa, where it mined and processed asbestos, a material responsible for fatal diseases.
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