Obsolete

My father, Joe, was a miner all his working life and died because of the silicosis (coal dust on his lungs). When he died, at 77, following over 10 years of illness, he left no possessions, no house, no car, and no savings. Nothing.

To read your article (Lawyers made millions from sick miners, 12 December) only surprises me in the amount of money these lawyers took from this government fund. Our mam, Katie, now aged 93, struggled financially after our dad died. It was therefore good news when it seemed that some of this fund would be coming her way. We were initially hopeful at the number of phone calls we received from legal firms, but at the end our mam had to settle for a few hundred pounds. That was disappointing. But to learn that James Beresford took £16m from this fund and his firm removed a total of £115m beggars belief.

I read that the solicitors Beresford and Smith are to be struck off. Good. Pity it wasn't done some time ago. Clearly men such as these have no moral conscience. They cannot possibly understand how men like my father worked for 40 years underground, digging out the coal which kept the nation warm and fuelled, for a pittance. I bet my dad didn't earn in a lifetime what Beresford took in an hour.

Even in death my dad, and thousands of other miners, are still being stuffed by the fat cats. I am assuming that this money will be paid back into the fund and used for what it was intended.
Gerard McCabe
Colne, Lancashire

Labels: Beresfords, cunts, miners compensation