Gordon Brown was last night called on to end the �compensation limbo� for thousands of workers who suffer from an asbestos-related industrial condition.

Gordon Brown was last night called on to end the "compensation limbo" for thousands of workers who suffer from an asbestos-related industrial condition.

Hundreds of union activists lobbied Westminster yesterday, urging the UK Government to take action to overturn a controversial ruling by the House of Lords, which ended the right of pleural plaques sufferers to receive financial compensation.

The condition scars the lining of the lungs but seldom causes immediate symptoms. However, it is associated with an increased risk of developing fatal conditions like mesothelioma or asbestosis. In Scotland, the condition is often related to people who worked in the shipbuilding industry.

In June, the Scottish Government introduced the Damages (Asbestos Related Conditions) Bill following the Lords' ruling to ensure Scots could continue to make claims. Earlier this month, Holyrood's Justice Committee backed the Bill but expressed concern at the potential costs.

Insurers said that Scottish ministers had significantly under-estimated the compensation costs when they put them at £6.5m a year by 2015. The insurers suggested the annual cost could be almost a hundred times this figure at £607m, with the total bill reaching as much as £8bn.

Yesterday at Westminster, Unite joined forces with Ucatt and the GMB.

Graham Goddard, Unite's deputy leader, said: "The Lords' ruling was a disaster for working people. There is only one cause of this disease and that is the widespread, indiscriminate use of asbestos throughout industry for years.

"Compensation must come from those who put them at risk in the first place, and from an insurance industry which made money from that risk. It is clear that neither employers nor the insurance industry will do right by these workers so we need our government to make them."

Unite joined Ucatt and the GMB in the Westminster lobby in a bid to persuade the UK Government to overturn the Lords' ruling and reinstate compensation for victims of pleural plaques.

Jim Sheridan, the Labour MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, told The Herald: "The government has to give a clear timetable to these people. We've had a discussion, we've had a consultation, what we need now is a decision." He said the Prime Minister had indicated more than a year ago that something would be done. Mr Sheridan added: "If these people were cows and developed a disease, then farmers would be compensated. I don't see why sufferers of pleural plaques should be treated any differently."

In March, Mr Brown said his government was "determined to take some action".

It was later reported that the UK Government was seeking a deal that would see insurers pay up to £5000 each to victims of pleural plaques, which could cost the industry up to £500m.