New compensation for UK victims of Mumbai terror attacks

LONDON: British victims of the Mumbai terror attacks are likely to be given the same level of compensation by the government as the victims of the July 2005 London bombings.

The Labour government is expected to shortly announce a change of policy that will enable British victims of terrorism abroad to be eligible for government help. A campaign for this change had been launched for the last four years.

One of the beneficiaries of the new policy will be Will Pike, 29, who fell from the third floor of the Taj Hotel when the escape rope comprising towels and curtain broke last November and he fell to a life in a wheelchair.

Expressing relief and joy at the news, Pike told The Observer: "The worst thing has been the uncertainty - not knowing whether the government was going to help, or whether we would have to try to raise funds ourselves to allow us to rebuild and get on with our lives."



Britain's current compensation law excludes citizens who are injured by terrorists abroad. They were eligible for a maximum 15,000 pounds award from a government-backed Red Cross emergency fund.

The decision to give them the same kind of assistance as victims of the London bombings, bringing Britain into line with other major western countries, follows a four-year campaign by lawmakers, peers and the victims' families.

The move came after personal intervention by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, government sources told the newspaper.

Final funding details are being worked out by a cabinet committee that includes Tessa Jowell, the minister in charge of helping terror victims and a longtime supporter of the change, and "crucial" support from Justice Minister Jack Straw.

Besides Pike, other British victims of earlier attacks in Bali, Turkey and the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh will be able to access government assistance after the change of policy is announced later this month.