First PoWs to receive payments

The first £10,000 payments were being sent out today to thousands of former servicemen and civilians held prisoner by the Japanese during the Second World War in recognition of the terrible conditions they endured.

Social security minister Hugh Bayley said more than 14,000 ex-prisoners or their surviving spouses stood to benefit under the scheme first announced last November by Tony Blair.

It marks a major milestone for veterans who have been campaigning for years for compensation for the harsh and brutal conditions in the Far East camps which led to the deaths of more than 12,400 of the 50,000 British service personnel captured by the Japanese.

The Department of Social Security said the one-off, ex-gratia payments were being made "in recognition of the unique circumstances of their captivity during the Second World War".

There is no cut-off date for making a claim for payment and the DSS said that the War Pensions Agency would process claims for as long as they continued to come in.

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