PM vows No 10 will pay full costs of Arena attack
THE government will pay Manchester the full costs of the Arena terror attack, Theresa May has told our sister paper the M.E.N.
In a dramatic U-turn, the prime minister has vowed that the total amount spent by police, NHS bodies and councils in dealing with the May 22 attack – which claimed 22 lives – will be compensated by Number 10.
It comes after outrage on Friday when Number 10 announced it would pay £12m of the £17m asked for by local leaders, arguing it had a duty to reimburse only ‘reasonable costs’
Savaging the government’s response, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham revealed that the true cost of the attack could run to £28m.
But in a climbdown, Mrs May has now stated the city will get everything it needs and has committed to covering every cost incurred by services who helped victims and their families.
Mrs May exclusively told the M.E.N: “Be in no doubt, Manchester will get the financial support it needs – and if that costs £28m, as Andy Burnham has estimated, then that is what we will make available.”
A taskforce has been set up within the Cabinet Office to make sure different government departments responsible for processing different payments to Manchester all work together.
The PM said the taskforce would work to ‘oversee, progress and expedite payments when necessary’.
She said in the statement to the M.E.N.: “I promised in the wake of the appalling atrocity, this government would do all it could to help victims recover and the city to heal. I repeat that commitment today.
“Where your public services have had to bear, or will bear, unexpected and exceptional costs in coping with this terrible attack, these will be met by the government. The process of making those payments is on-going and I understand the frustration felt at the pace of delivery, so I have taken steps to speed up our response.”
Mrs May faced a barrage of political and public pressure after writing to Mr Burnham on Friday to say the government would commit to only ‘reasonable costs’, said to be around £12m.
Mr Burnham said current costs incurred amounted to £17.6m and revealed additional projected costs of £10.4m – bringing the expected total to more than £28m.
Mrs May said not all funding would be needed immediately, citing an estimated £5m for inquest which have adjourned until June.
It is now understood hearings been next that Cabinet-level talks have been held across the weekend in the wake of criticism, resulting in the PM’s definitive statement.