The amount of money paid out to individual terror victims has fallen by more than half in the last year, devastating figures reveal. Those who have suffered in attacks like London Bridge, Westminster and Manchester have on average an agonising five and a half months wait to find out if they will get any money or not. It comes as it was revealed that the widow of the ringleader of the London Bridge terrorist attack has been granted legal aid - even though his victims’ families have been denied public funds to represent their interests at inquests into the atrocity. Labour , who uncovered the figures, have slammed the system which they argue is compounding the distress of the victims. Shadow Justice Minister Gloria De Piero said: “Vulnerable victims and traumatised families of horrendous attacks are being forced to wait the best part of six months before receiving diminishing compensation payments. “The Government must urgently address giving victims of terrorism the support they desperately need.” Meanwhile data shows the number of victims who have their application for compensation accepted has also fallen by 18% in the last year. The average amount of compensation given to victims of terrorism fell from £9,075 in 2017-18 to £4,317 in 2018-19. It comes after it was revealed that families of victims killed in the London Bridge attack have been told it is not in the public interest for them to receive state funding for legal representation. Meanwhile, government agencies have used public funds to hire some of the best legal teams to represent their interests in court. The Government say that the amount of money is related to the seriousness of injuries suffered. They say the that the diagnosis process is a difficult one which takes tme. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has a dedicated team to assess claims as quickly as possible and we reduced the average wait by 122 days last year.”
Ministry of Justice,Conservative Party,Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority,Terrorism,Legal aid,Politics,
The amount of money paid out to individual terror victims has fallen by more than half in the last year, devastating figures reveal. Those who have suffered in attacks like London Bridge, Westminster and Manchester have on average an agonising five and a half months wait to find out if they will get any money or not. It comes as it was revealed that the widow of the ringleader of the London Bridge terrorist attack has been granted legal aid - even though his victims’ families have been denied public funds to represent their interests at inquests into the atrocity. Labour , who uncovered the figures, have slammed the system which they argue is compounding the distress of the victims. Shadow Justice Minister Gloria De Piero said: “Vulnerable victims and traumatised families of horrendous attacks are being forced to wait the best part of six months before receiving diminishing compensation payments. “The Government must urgently address giving victims of terrorism the support they desperately need.” Meanwhile data shows the number of victims who have their application for compensation accepted has also fallen by 18% in the last year. The average amount of compensation given to victims of terrorism fell from £9,075 in 2017-18 to £4,317 in 2018-19. It comes after it was revealed that families of victims killed in the London Bridge attack have been told it is not in the public interest for them to receive state funding for legal representation. Meanwhile, government agencies have used public funds to hire some of the best legal teams to represent their interests in court. The Government say that the amount of money is related to the seriousness of injuries suffered. They say the that the diagnosis process is a difficult one which takes tme. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has a dedicated team to assess claims as quickly as possible and we reduced the average wait by 122 days last year.”
0 Comments