One Canadian Law Firm is profiting by the $$$$$'s in the settlement of cases involving the abuses perpetrated on native children forced into residential schools.

I agree with Wendy, that assuming the system allows lawyers to make huge, disproportionate fees, they should have the decency (is lawyers and decency an oxymoron?) to plough significant amounts back into the community.

Dawn Montgomery, Hamilton, Canada

And they say doctors are overpaid! How much did each miner get in the end?

John Wood, London,

I am a lawyer from an overseas jurisdiction and I'm appalled that this has been allowed to happen. My views are:

I don't blame the lawyers. If they are to survive globally as a profession, I would hope that they are entrepreneurial enough to go where the money is. Law practice is tough, overheads high, you don't know if there'll be enough work to break even next month, you have to grab what you can while you can. BUT having made a huge profit, they should have the moral decency to plough some of this back, eg. by doing pro bono work or taking on higher risk no-win-no-fee work, etc. Not buying private jets.

The blame lies on the DTI or whoever's responsible for coming up with the remuneration package for the lawyers. In my country, companies with bulk claims (eg. banks with credit card claims) negotiate bulk rates with law firms. The competition is cut throat and the lawyer only gets a measly fee per file (but he still takes it as it pays the rent). Why can't DTI do the same?

Wendy, Singapore,

As an american lawyer I can must say agree in part with Tony Jones. The lawyers are operating under they system as it exists. Often with out the lawyers and their fees the plaintiffs woulnd not even get the small amounts mentioned. I also wonder why the article does not mention the larger awards that the form acheived. In America, for better or worse, the contigent fee, forces the lawyer to riskhis mney on behalfof his client and the lawyer then shares in theaward. The result is better for both the injured and the lawyer as both have the incentive to acheive the maximum award. While the fees do seem high I suspect that htis is only half of the story.

David Sergi, San Marcos, Tx

My Dad worked down the pit for 43 years and received £3.000 compensation for serious dust on the lungs, he's lost %50 of his lung capacity. At least he is still alive! The quality of his latter years diminish daily.

This is Blairite Britain, looking after the working man. Hardly surprising that disaffection is strife.

elaine, London, UK

Mediation was intended to be used as a process to assist in the cost effective and early resolution of the these claims, without the need for protracted and expensive litigation. ADR Group, one of the UK's leading mediation provider organisations, was signed up by the DTI to deliver these services in the 1990's. The process of mediation could have assisted those who would have benefited most from early resolution, but sadly that has not proved to be the case.

Michael Lind, Bristol, Bristol

What exactly have these solicitors and others acting for miners done wrong? The Government (the DTI) set up two schemes, one for VWF and one for Chronic Respiratory Disease, both of which prescribed by reference to a medical report the amount of compensation each miner would receive (the solicitors do not decide this) and also the amount the solicitors are paid per case (again, the solicitors do not decide this). All these solicitors have done is to operate within the terms of the DTI schemes. The DTI also set up a separate claims handling agreement with the UDM to allow the UDM to handle these claims themselves (and, of course, be paid by the DTI) on behalf of miners. The implication that these firms have done something wrong simply by earning such sums is hysterical reporting of the worst kind and is of no credit whatsoever to the standing of The Times. Any criticism should be directed at the DTI for its incompetence in getting its sums so badly wrong when setting the schemes up.

Andrew, Huddersfield, UK

It is interesting that we all immediately feel animosity to Tony Blair (and Cherie Booth) over this. Do New Labour's spies and enforcers read our comments? I really hope so. However, let us not forget the well-mannered and high quality of service provided by many of our solicitors for very reasonable money. Equally, my thoughts are with the miners and their families who read this article. How long before we become civilly disobedient on a large scale?

Anwar Shah, Birmingham, W Midlands

The UK is becomming a country that is great to live in only if you are very very rich. Labour's leaders have been seduced by luxury, and they stealth tax the hard working and the poor while conspiring with the money. Can't see John Prescott giving up croquet, or Blair aiming for less than presidential splendour in his daily routine.

Anwar Shah, Birmingham, W Midlands

Although the sums involved in this article are huge by anyone's reckoning, the lawyers involve did not take any money to which they were not entitled. If the DTI agrees to pay a set fee per case, then it stands to reason that the firm who handles the most cases (in this instance Beresfords) will bill the highest costs. The article is written in a deliberately provocative way, but is careful not to mention the actual truth - that none of the money paid to the lawyers was given at the expense of those injured. It is not the fault of the lawyers taht the courts award compensation at such low levels.

Rob, Sheffield, England

As a reporter in South Wales I wrote extensively about miners respiratory illnesses and vibration white finger, and my god, those poor people i spoke to had earned their compensation. The idea that the money has gone to benefit corporate lawyers and buy private jets for these parastic people depresses me in ways that it's difficult to describe. There will be a reckoning one day in Britain, and the rich would do well to observe history's verdicts when it comes to similar scenarios.

Nick, Cardiff, UK

a disgusting indictment of the stupidity, mismanagment, and ineptitude of the DTI. As for the lawyers feeding from the their money troughs well even a pig cannot actually demand a bigger trough. The compensation idea itself was a good concept but to see the derisory amounts paid out and the true winners from this shows the application and inception was appauling. How can such crass greedy and selfish people get into these positions and nothing ever be said about it until it is too late.

Kevin, cambridge,

There is a legal definition of fraud. It may well be that these solicitors have broken no law. The law may have been inadequate in this case, but as solicitors and barristers constantly remind us to justify their totally amoral activities, that is not their concern. They merely have to operate within it.
So greedy, disgusting, amoral, immoral, despicable, etc, etc, they may have been, but until a conviction against one or more of them is achieved, they can not, strictly speaking, be described as fraudsters.
And if a case is brought, who of their cronies will act for the prosecution?

Tony Jones, Grantham, UK

A scandal of Labour like proportions. One can only marvel at the excessive abuse of taxpayers money going on here and of course recognise the left wing thread that runs through it all

Bryan, Cowes,

It's so sad that at a time when legal aid work is under threat in this country that firms like this disgrace the whole profession. There is no justification for these solicitors earning this type of money, and it simply reinforces the very wrong public view that all solicitors are unscrupulous and money grabbing. In fact, many solicitors who work for the most needy in society do so for very little money - it would surprise people to know that many solicitors are paid less than teachers, yet that side of the story is never told - primarily because of people like this.

Helen, Liverpool,

Yet more Labour corruption.
Was Tony on a kick back? If so I hope he declared it to the IR so that Gordon Brown's pension fund benefited

Stephen Green, Correns, France

What an absolute disgrace! These unsavoury characters are simply thieves and fraudsters. They should be put out of business immediately and their assets sequestrated to be divided amongst those mineworkers still alive to benefit from what is essentially compnsation due to them. They have fraudulently benefitted from monies due to others, surely a criminal offence ? If so, strike them off !!

Chris, Cambridge, England

And I suppose no heads will roll! Why are the brain-dead who are in charge of spending vastly inflated taxes not held accountable, and sacked, or made to pay compensation themselves? That includes senior civil servants, ministers and anyone "responsible" (I put it in "" as responsibility is a joke with the Blair government). As ever, the poor and sick get the dregs. I only hope the solicitor in question gets justice in the next world, because there is very little in this.

elaine, Spain,

Yet another indication that this government is unfit to manage a budget. Stop-start spending on the NHS; mismanaged contracts for GPs; the looming financial disaster of the Olympics; the negotiation away of the European budget rebate; the doubling of the council tax to pay for central government-mandated services; the scandal of the single farm payments mismanaged by Ms Beckett; Dawn Primorola's incompetence [was it CSA? so many to choose from I've forgotten]. The only real financial and economic success has been on growth (ingherited from Major's bunch) and inflation and THAT is because the Bank of England was made independent. Brown is all smoke and mirrors. Blair is all spin. That's why this sort of thing can happen and yet barely surprise us.

Andrew Mashkov, London, UK

While Blair (a lawyer) harasses the poor on benefits, the rich and greedy get richer.

Peter Day, Doncaster, UK

Nice to see the DTI looking after the tax payers money so well.
And nobody in the DTI thought to question these fixed fees of 2000 pound per case- when all the law firm does is rubber stamp an application?

peter, caracas, venezuela

Disgusting but hardly suprising. Everbody knows lawyers are only here to use the system to line their pockets. They couldn't care less for their clients. Another snout in the New Labour trough. This reflects very badly on a dim and reckless government who write the cheques without question.

Edward, London,

This is a suprise because.....?. Class action suits are not for the benefit of the injured. As are all cases, the lawyers interest trumps the rest. Welcome to American lawyering. God help you.

Desmond Taylor, Houston, TX