David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party, has called on UK prime minister Tony Blair to seek a fair compensation package for the 125,000 victims of Britain's collapsed final salary pension schemes.
<p>Mr Cameron suggested that ministers should meet with opposition politicians to find a suitable replacement scheme for the victims, after the High Court ruled against the government on the issue. <br /><br />Shadow work and pensions secretary Philip Hammond urged ministers to act quickly, and stated: The fact is, for many of the victims of this crisis, waiting until 2009 or 2010 for a Conservative government to address the problem is not an option. The best way forward has to be for this Labour government to take the lead and find a solution now – built on a cross-party consensus.<br /><br />Senior Conservative members intervened after the High Court ruled that ministers have no power to completely reject a report from the parliamentary ombudsman, Ann Abraham, which declared the government guilty of maladministration, and urged it to consider compensation for the victims. <br /><br />In response to Mr Cameron, Mr Blair said that the government was still considering the terms of the court judgment but emphasized that it was important that the newly assembled package was affordable.</p>