The Irish Thalidomide Association has welcomed an Australian woman’s multimillion settlement with the distributor of the anti-morning sickness drug she says caused her birth defect.

An Australian woman leading a class action lawsuit has reached a multi-million settlement with the British distributor of an anti-morning sickness drug that she says caused her birth defects, her lawyer said today.

The chief executive of Diageo was challenged to explain directly to workers why the company rejected Scottish government-backed plans aimed at saving hundreds of whisky jobs.