Rail bosses ordered to pay up

Transport secretary Alistair Darling has ordered rail bosses to take urgent action to settle the outstanding compensation claims issued by survivors of the Paddington disaster.

Mr Darling has instructed his officials to obtain a full explanation for the delay in payments from bosses at the Go-Ahead Group, the parent company of Thames Trains.

The move comes as it emerges that Go-Ahead has paid out £35 million in dividends in the four years since the crash - significantly more than the £30 million so far paid in compensation to survivors-Insurance industry experts said it was clear the company could afford to compensate the survivors immediately, so ending their ordeal, and be reimbursed by the insurers later.

Des Collins, a personal injury expert and senior

partner of London law firm Collins & Co, said: "There is no legal or ethical reason why Go-Ahead could not make the compensation payments and then try to recover them from the insurers."

Evening Standard has learned that senior civil servants at the Department of Transport have spoken to key Go-Ahead executives in a series of telephone calls in the past two days.

These include the company's deputy chief executive, Chris Moyes.

A spokeswoman for Mr Darling said today: "The Secretary of State wanted it to be made clear that the claims should be resolved as soon as possible."

Sources said the Transport Secretary had made his own feelings on the matter perfectly clear - that there could be little or no excuse for delaying full compensation payments to 78 survivors of the October 1999 crash.

However, they added that he does not want to get involved directly by making a public statement as he believes it is up to the company to sort out the matter.

Politicians from all sides have launched protests after details of the delays in compensation payments emerged.

The 379 settlements that have been made have cost more than £30million - the limit of the risk policy agreed between Thames Trains and insurers St Paul.

St Paul has now passed the 78 remaining claims on to AIG, condemning the survivors to yet more delays.

It appears that Mr Darling, who took over as Transport Secretary after Stephen Byers quit the Cabinet last year, simply did not know that dozens of cases still remain to be settled.

After the Evening Standard highlighted the compensation fight he ordered full details on the case from his officials.

He was said to be greatly concerned and anxious that the survivors' ordeals should be brought to a swift end.