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Speed up payouts to victims of 7/7, Mayor tells Jowell
Pippa Crerar, Political Correspondent03.07.08
Boris Johnson stepped up pressure on the Government today to speed up compensation for victims of the 7 July bombings.
The Mayor said he was "greatly concerned" that many of those who were caught up in the attacks had still not received full payment.
Some victims have complained the publicly funded Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has been slow in helping those injured or bereaved in the 2005 London attacks.
Latest figures, from December last year, show 143 of 635 claims submitted are still to be resolved, including many where the applicant is yet to receive a penny. In a letter to Minister for London Tessa Jowell, Mr Johnson called on the Government to deal with the delays urgently.
He said: "It is of great concern to me that three years after the horrific 7 July bombings in London, many victims are experiencing delays in receiving full compensation for their injuries. Any delays in payments must be dealt with immediately.
"I have asked the minister to explain why the CICA has not processed all the payments by now. The Government must do all in their power to honour the commitments made to compensate the survivors of the 7 July bombings and not add to their distress with bureaucratic delays."
Shortly after the attacks, Tony Blair promised to speed up payments, and Gordon Brown, then chancellor, topped up the compensation authority's-fund with £8 million. But MPs have criticised the authority for delays and inefficiency, with a report last year warning it was "slowly grinding to a halt".
Danny Biddle, who lost both legs and one eye in the attacks, has told how last year he was surviving on an interim payment of £118,000.
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Good man Boris. Stir up the mud in the bottom of this Government's murky pond.
- Albert Hall, hove england
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