People with a professional or personal interest in mesothelioma and the dangers of asbestos may be aware of the British Asbestos Newsletter, which recently marked its 20th year of publication.

The newsletter is edited by Laurie Kazan-Allen, co-ordinator of the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat.

A special edition has been published, looking back over the past 20 years and the progress made in the battle to ban asbestos and achieve justice for victims.

The special edition, to which I contributed a piece on asbestos litigation, is available to read online. Click here to read the newsletter.

I have also recently reached a personal milestone. It is now 20 years since I handled my first asbestos cancer case. I represented a man named Irving Sheldon who had been exposed to asbestos while serving in the Royal Navy.

20 years on and some progress has been made. The general public are much more aware of the dangers of asbestos and a number of high-profile cases, including June Hancock’s battle against Turner & Newall, have set precedents that improved access to compensation for those exposed to asbestos.

Sadly there is still much work to do. We continue to see thousands of cases of mesothelioma each year, which means the British Asbestos Newsletter is as important today as it was 20 years ago.