British media, especially the Sunday Times, played a crucial role in gathering public support for Thalidomide survivors. By 1972 it was obvious that Distillers was determined to pay as little as possible. It also didn’t look like as if the Thalidomide children’s lawyers were capable of fighting for a better deal. That’s when the Sunday Times started a huge media campaign. In September 1972 they published a series of articles under the banner “Our Thalidomide Children: A Cause for National Shame”. In fact, Sunday Times journalists had been investigating the story for years, analysing thousands of documents and speaking to lawyers, experts and survivors and their families from all over the world. The paper called on Distillers to do more for the children. Eventually a total of 28 million pounds was paid out by the drug company during the 1970s

Sources: The Sunday Times: Our Thalidomide Children: A Cause for National Shame, September 24, 1972.

The Independent: A Battle Won Late, August 24, 1997

Michael Magazanik: Silent Shock. The Men behind the Thalidomide Scandal and an Australian Family’s Long Road to Justice. Melbourne 2015, pp. 282ff.