Hundreds of riot victims still waiting for payouts

 
August riots: a panel found that fines for schools would mean the risk of future riots would be 'significantly reduced'
Pippa Crerar12 June 2012

Victims of last summer’s riots today claimed they had been let down after it emerged that hundreds were still awaiting full compensation.

A total of 656 cases are still to be settled, including many where no funds at all have been received, and Mayor Boris Johnson came under pressure to speed up the claims as an inquiry began into the compensation scheme.

Tottenham MP David Lammy, whose constituency was at the centre of the riots, said it was “totally unacceptable” that so many cases had yet to be settled and warned Mr Johnson that it would be “staggeringly embarrassing” if victims had not received payouts by the time of the Olympics.

Rioters and looters caused £370  million of damage after police shot dead Mark Duggan in Tottenham Hale on August 4 last year.

Seven days later, David Cameron promised in the Commons that all victims would be compensated under the Riot Damages Act, and Mr Johnson worked with large companies to set up the High Street Fund to help small businesses affected by the riots.

But Mr Lammy told the London Assembly: “The Mayor’s office should be bending over backwards to make sure that those affected by the riots get the funds they deserve quickly.

“It was not their fault. We know there were not enough police on the streets. People are seeing half, 25 per cent, or no claims at all nine months after the riots, and that’s a travesty.”

He warned that London could see a repeat of the riots that devastated parts of the capital last year.

"I'm afraid I will not be able to sit here comfortably and say there will not be further unrest in areas like mine," he said.

Unemployment in his Tottenham constituency has gone up since the riots while Government cuts were only just beginning to bite, he said.

"This is a very, very sensitive and difficult time," he added.

Chair of the High Street Fund Sir William Castell said the authorities had "struggled" to push through compensation payments quickly.

He suggested that national government had "lost interest" in the issue within months of the riots.

Mr Johnson has written to Home Secretary Theresa May urging her to speed up dealing with damages claims and put pressure on insurance firms to do the same.

City Hall sources suggested that much of the outstanding delay was caused by these firms failing to pass on information.

His attack came as London Assembly members launched an investigation into the effectiveness of riot recovery funding. A panel including Bob Atkins, chief finance officer at the Mayor’s office for policing and crime (MOPC), were questioned by the budget and performance committee on the amount, distribution and impact of funding to businesses and people hit by the riots.

The 656 outstanding cases include 505 where businesses were insured and in most cases would have received at least an interim payment. There are 145 cases where the insurer rejected the claim, which then became a claim against the MOPC. Finally, there are six outstanding cases of uninsured claims.

Lib-Dem Stephen Knight, deputy chair of the committee, said: “To have suffered the results of the riots is bad enough, but if you’re waiting this long for the compensation it’s just not good enough.”

'Lots of promises but we've been let down'

Ravi and Amrit Khurmy are still waiting for compensation after their shop was destroyed in last summer’s riots.

Today, they said their struggle for a payout had been “a nightmare” and demanded politicians stepped in to ensure victims were treated fairly.

Mrs Khurmy said their nine-month agony — which threatened to leave them homeless under the weight of mounting debts caused by £240,000 losses — appeared to be near an end after receiving a compensation offer.

But with the funds still to arrive, they remain angry at their treatment after yobs attacked the under-insured Ealing Green Local Supermarket.

Their plight was raised in the Commons and led to an assurance from David Cameron that he would look into their case. Mrs Khurmy said: “We will not get everything we lost, but hopefully it will be enough to rebuild the shop. We’ve lost everything.

“The politicians really need to look into what is going on for people who need help. They’ve been let down. There have been lots of promises in front of the cameras.”

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