Compensation bid for bomb victims

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A bid for compensation for Britons who are killed or hurt in terrorist attacks abroad is to be debated by peers.

The Victims of Overseas Terrorism Bill, brought by Labour's Lord Brennan, backs a statutory compensation scheme.

The UK's Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority covers attacks in Britain, but not abroad - and insurers often do not pay out for terrorist attacks.

The government has pledged a £1m fund for victims of overseas attacks, but campaigners say that is inadequate.

More than 40 Britons have been killed and scores injured in terrorist attacks abroad since 11 September 2001, including the bombings in Bali, Egypt and Turkey.

'Lack of help'

The Foreign Office provides emergency assistance for victims - but the Private Member's Bill, which will be debated by peers on Friday, would put such aid on a statutory footing.

Tory MP Tobias Elwood, whose brother died in the Bali bombing, said the lack of help and support from the government had been "colossal".

He said Tory leader David Cameron supported the concept of the bill.

The government has recognised that relatives of the dead feel "aggrieved" by the lack of compensation.

It has said that many countries, including the UK, compensate victims of attacks on their land - regardless of nationality - but problems arise in those countries that did not.

"We are looking at the options for bridging that gap but that may take some time," the prime minister's spokesman said in September.

The £1m charitable fund had been introduced "in the meantime", he added.