7/7 bombs: compensation reform pledge

The Government has pledged to reform a scheme which compensates innocent victims of crime in the wake of the July 7 London bombings.

Justice Secretary Ken Clarke said the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme was subject to "huge delays" and had received insufficient funding to meet the level of claims.

He was responding to a question from Labour MP David Winnick about victims of the suicide attacks on London's public transport system on July 7, 2005, in which 52 civilians were killed and about 700 more were injured.

Mr Clarke said the coalition had inherited a compensation system that "simply has not received adequate funding in each year's budget to keep up with the level of claims".

He told Mr Winnick: "So we are going to have to look again to see how we can produce a system that works more efficiently, is actually affordable and doesn't just depend on huge delays before anything is paid because nobody has allocated any money to settle all the claims outstanding."

In July this year, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority said victims had so far received £11 million in compensation.

IBB Solicitors has built a reputation for quality of service in pursuing compensation in cases involving accident, illness or death. If you would like advice on personal injury issues, you can contact a member of IBB's Personal Injury team, call us on 08456 381 381 or email enquiries@ibblaw.co.uk.