14/03/2006

London bomb payouts reach £7 million

Around £7 million has been paid out in compensation to the victims of the July 7 London bombings, the London Bombing Relief Charitable Fund (LBRCF) has announced.

The final round of major grants to those most seriously affected by the July 7 bomb attacks have now been announced. The charity previously announced payments in phases between July and November 2005 for those bereaved by the bombings and the most seriously injured. Total donations to the fund have now reached £9 million, the LBRCF confirmed.

The grants will provide a bereaved spouse or partner with another £10,000 in this latest round of payments, bringing the total amount to £55,000 in available grants.

The next-of-kin of someone who died without a spouse or partner will receive a further maximum amount of £5,000, bringing their total received from the fund to a maximum of £40,000.

A bereaved family with two dependent children will be in line for another £20,000, bringing the total amount of available grants to a total of £120,000.

Those who were seriously injured in the attacks will receive an additional sum of between £10,000 and £45,000, bringing the total amount available to them to between £40,000 and £120,000 depending on their circumstances.

The payments are separate from compensation from the government's Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.

A deadline of March 31 has been announced for those who wish to apply for grants. After that date, the LBRCF said that it could not guarantee that it would be able to make any new awards, but said that it would treat any applications with "compassion, where there are exceptional circumstances, and within the funds it has available."

Commenting on the final payments, Gerald Oppenheim, the charity's chair of trustees, said: "These grants represent the final slice of substantial help to the bereaved and the seriously injured.

"Of course, our grants can never make up for what they have lost, but we know from the many letters of thanks we have received that the extra financial aid the LBRCF has given to the victims of 7/7 has been a help to them in dealing with their immediate needs and in starting to rebuild their lives."

(KMcA/GB)




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