What an insult
Manchester bombing survivors slam payout scheme after parents of youngest victim get just £5,500 each
SuRvIvoRS of the Manchester Arena bombing have branded the official compensation scheme a ‘complete insult’ as it emerged the parents of the youngest victim will receive just £5,500 each.
Lisa and Andrew Roussos were offered £11,000 after their daughter Saffie-Rose, aged eight, was killed in the terror attack which claimed 22 lives nearly two years ago.
Meanwhile others who were horrifically injured have faced delays receiving their payments, in some cases just ‘interim’ sums of £1,000, from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).
Mrs Roussos, 50, who spent six weeks in a coma and only learned of her daughter’s death from husband Andrew when she regained consciousness, told the BBC: ‘We were offered £5,500 each for the death of Saffie. It’s a complete insult.’ The amount is the maximum allowable for a bereavement by the CICA.
Their daughter, from Leyland, Lancashire, was the youngest victim to die as she left a concert by pop star Ariana Grande on May 22, 2017, with her mother and older sister, Ashlee, 27.
Fanatic Salman Abedi, 22, blew himself up in the arena foyer. Mrs Roussos had to learn to walk again and still suffers nerve damage and numbness in her hand. She and her husband are launching their own charity to help families affected by terror attacks. Mr Roussos said: ‘The charity needs to be there to help victims of terrorism. There’s no help.’
Last night, other survivors described the CICA scheme as ‘wholly inadequate’, adding that they had only got by thanks to the generosity of charity donations. Father-of-two Robby Potter, who nearly died after he was blasted through the heart with shrapnel, has been unable to work until recently. But he has only received a £1,000 interim CICA payment against £30,000 in lost earnings. The lorry driver, 49, said he only made ends meet with help from charity, such as from the We Love Manchester fund and fundraising by his former rugby union club and friends. ‘If I’d have been in a car crash, I would have been sorted by now and probably received a six-figure sum,’ he added.
Another survivor, who asked not to be named, revealed he has not even received the interim payment despite severe shrapnel wounds to his feet, legs and upper body. The married father- of-two said his application has been delayed because the CICA is requesting more paperwork. ‘You would think there would be a quicker way of doing things,’ he said. ‘If it hadn’t been for We Love Manchester, we would have lost our home. It’s as if the CICA don’t care. It’s just dragging on. The situation is an absolute disgrace.’ The charity We Love Manchester attracted £21.6million of public donations, including through a Red Cross appeal, and has provided grants to about 500 people left bereaved or seriously injured.
Generous Daily Mail readers raised more than £215,000 to help the victims of the terror attack, with thousands of people either donating phones or giving money to our Mobiles for Manchester appeal. The CICA said it has issued £211,300 in interim payments to an undisclosed number of people, while £1.03million has been paid as full settlement to 361 claimants.
The news comes as the taxpayer faces funding a legal challenge against the Government revoking the citizenship of jihadi bride Shamima Begum.
Lawyers for Miss Begum, who fled to Syria aged 15 to marry an Islamic State fighter, are set to receive legal aid.
Mr Potter, from the Wirral, Merseyside, called the move ‘completely insulting’.
The CICA defended the payment delays, saying: ‘Getting this right can take time – applications are often made many months after an incident, and involve careful diagnosis of a complex range of physical and mental injuries.’
‘We could have lost our home’