Today is a poignant anniversary for those who lost friends and loved ones in the July bombings three years ago. The tragedy has had profound impacts - for example on public views on terror laws and civil liberties, as reflected in the recent debates about detention without trial for terror suspects. Yet it did not have the corrosive effect on relations between London communities that many people feared at the time - and for that, we must be grateful.

But three years on, the families of those killed still have not had the closure of an inquest: it has been postponed until the end of the trials of all those connected with the bombings. As we report today some of the bombers are still feted in Pakistan: the uncle of Shehzad Tanweer is holding a party to celebrate this "martyr's" life.

Worse, it beggars belief that some victims of the bombings should still be awaiting payments from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. Last December, the Commons Public Accounts committee said that the slow working of the authority "adds to people's woes". It cited figures showing that 143 of the 635 claims submitted in connection with the bombings still have to be resolved, including 99 cases where the applicants have received nothing at all. It is astonishing, given that, shortly after the attacks, Tony Blair promised to expedite payments to the victims and Gordon Brown topped up the compensation fund to £8 million. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has called on the Minister for London, Tessa Jowell, to deal with the delays; this matter surely has moral priority over her Olympic responsibilities.

Given the bureaucracy that affects the workings of state-funded compensation it is just as well that the fund set up by the then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, together with this paper, was so much quicker in delivering assistance to victims. Some people who are eligible for compensation are surviving on interim payments. Three years after the event, this is utterly unacceptable.

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