EMAG goes to Europe to seek Equitable justice.

EMAG is confident of very widespread support from European MEPs for its Equitable Life Petition hearing in the Brussels Parliament on Tuesday.

EMAG is asking the Petitions Committee to investigate and precipitate proceedings against the UK Government for breaches of EC Laws in the European Court of Justice, thus upholding European law and protecting citizens’ rights to justice from obstruction by the UK Government.

Paul Braithwaite, general manager of EMAG:

“For five years The Treasury and its pals have used every Sir Humphrey trick in the book to avoid paying compensation. But because they’ve tried to keep the lid on it, it’s festered. Untold damage has been done to confidence in regulation and financial services industry. It’s vital for Europe to take an interest and lance the boil.”

EMAG alleges that the British Government has denied policyholders’ reasonable demands for compensation for regulatory failure over more than a decade and that it has distorted, then ignored, the damning conclusions of the Penrose Report. Specifically, EMAG claims that the UK has failed since 1994 to apply the First and Third Life Directives, with the consequential loss of more than £4bn to over one million investors, 15,000 of whom reside elsewhere in Europe. Many MEPs from Ireland and Germany have indicated their backing for the petition, as well as MEPs from ALL UK parties.

The support of British Socialist MEPs is in stark contrast to the years of indifference from Labour MPs, who have deferred to the Labour whip, thus ensuring that Equitable policyholders have been thwarted at every turn. This has caused EMAG to appeal over the head of the UK Government to Europe in its search for justice and compensation.

Tom Lake, chairman of EMAG:
“Equitable Life is now a byword for lack of confidence in the Government's handling of its pension crisis. Gordon Brown's Treasury has dodged all responsibility and simply dumped the Equitable Life investors and pensioners with their £4bn losses.
MEPs can help Britain restore confidence in savings by applying European standards and law to regulation, including an effective means of putting right the consequences of breaches of European law.”

Notes for Editors:

EMAG submitted its Petition (29/2005) on 9 December 2004. The hearing on 13 September will be the first time MEPs will have discussed Equitable Life. There is an outstanding complaint about the “light touch” (or non-existence?) of UK regulation in the 1980s and 1990s from Lloyds of London investors that remains unresolved.

A verbatim extract from letter from ELAS’s solicitors, Herbert Smith, 14 April 2004, to Equitable Life, sent to all policyholders explained why the board of the Society would do nothing to pursue government compensation. It shows WHY EMAG needs all the support it can get from MEPs:

“We consider that there is a potentially arguable claim on the part of the policyholders for breach of the Third Life Directive, in respect of one limited issue…….Quite apart from uncertainty regarding the merits of a novel claim of this sort, there are further difficulties in that (i) it may well involve a reference to the European Court of Justice; (ii) there are likely to be numerous complex causation and loss issues; and (iii) such litigation would be lengthy and costly.”

EMAG continues to work constructively with the second investigation of the Parliamentary Ombudsman into Equitable Life, which is due to complete its report by the end of the year.