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Far Eastern Prisoners of War (FEPOW)
Far East Prisoners of War (Ex-gratia Payments)The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
for Defence (Derek Twigg): The Ministry of Defence (MOD) welcomes
the court’s judgment that the scheme’s criteria do not directly
discriminate on the grounds of race and that it was legitimate to limit
payments to those with a close link to the United Kingdom.
17 Oct 2006 : Column 47WS
The MOD accepts the court’s finding that the way the Government chose
to define that close link—introducing the ‘birthlink’ criteria—involved
unjustified indirect discrimination against those of non-United Kingdom national
origins. We will not be seeking leave to appeal.
The purpose of the birthlink criteria was to provide an administratively manageable way of paying more British subjects, not fewer. It was never the MOD’s intention to discriminate against Mrs. Elias or anyone else on grounds of race. Nonetheless, in the light of the court’s judgment, which the MOD accepts, the Department recognises the hurt unintentionally caused to Mrs. Elias personally and will pay her the compensation that the court ordered, plus interest. Mrs. Elias had already received an ex-gratia payment of £10,000 under the scheme pursuant to changes to the scheme’s eligibility criteria that were announced in March of this year. Those changes meant that those who have resided in the UK for at least 20 years between the end of the second world war and November 2000, when the scheme was introduced, qualify for a payment.
Civilian claims submitted after the High Court judgment on 7 July 2005 have been, and will continue to be, decided only on the basis of the other, residence-based, criteria, based either on normal residence in the United Kingdom before the war and return to United Kingdom shortly afterwards, or at least 20 years’ residence in the United Kingdom between 1945 and November 2000.
