Terrorism: Support for British Victims (Hansard, 6 October 2003)

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

Last week we remembered the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks, two years ago. In a few weeks, we shall be marking the first anniversary of the Bali bombings. The Government responded to these tragic events with practical support for the families of the victims beyond the consular assistance we would normally provide following the death or injury of British nationals abroad. We did so because of the exceptional nature of terrorism, in which individuals are random victims of attacks directed at society as a whole. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary announced on 18 September a package of measures designed to support the families of victims of future terrorist attacks abroad, which is based closely on what was provided for the families of victims of September 11 and Bali.

These measures are:

return economy airfares to the airport nearest the site of the incident for two members of the victim's family;
accommodation for three to five nights;
travel insurance as appropriate and where available;
local travel including transfers from airport to local hotel;
repatriation of bodies or remains;
immediate medical expenses of those killed or injured;
medical evacuation of those killed or injured to the nearest hospital; and
return luggage costs of those killed or injured.

The provision of the exact package, and the details of the assistance offered to the families will, of course, depend on the particular circumstances, including whether any of the costs are already covered by existing insurance policies. As a matter of course, we provide consular advice and support, both in London and at the site of the incident. We also endeavour to arrange insurance cover for family members where it would not otherwise be available.

None of these measures can ever take away the pain and suffering which families will experience in these most horrendous of circumstances, but we sincerely hope they will at least remove some of the practical and administrative burdens from them, when trying to cope with the trauma of the incident.

26WA

The question of what constitutes an act of terrorism remains a difficult one. In the case of September 11, Bali and the compound bombings in Riyadh in May of this year, we were all in no doubt that we were dealing with acts of terrorism. Where there is doubt as to whether a violent death abroad is the result of an act of terrorism, we will consider the circumstances carefully and sympathetically. In essence, this package of measures is designed to assist the families of members of the travelling and expatriate British public, who are inadvertently caught up in a terrorist incident; and where they are not covered by ordinary insurance policies.