CARMICHAEL WELCOMES EQUITABLE LIFE COMPENSATION SCHEME PROGRESS  

Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael has welcomed news that thousands of Equitable Life policy holders have now received compensation under the scheme established by the coalition government. Mr Carmichael campaigned for the government to compensate those who lost money after the collapse of Equitable Life for many years in opposition. The establishment of a compensation scheme was a key Liberal Democrat pledge before the last general election and a commitment to recompense policyholders was included in the coalition agreement. In a letter to MPs earlier this week, Treasury Minister Mark Hoban confirmed that the scheme has completed its first phase and is now making high volumes of payments to policyholders. More than 10,000 payments have been made in the last week alone.Commenting, Mr Carmichael said:‘The failure of the last government to compensate people who lost out after the...