20 victims of 7/7 blasts still waiting for payout

Twenty victims of the 7/7 London bombings have yet to receive a penny, and more than 70 cases have still to be fully settled three years after the attacks, the Evening Standard can reveal.

Figures obtained from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority also show that 18 applicants are appealing over the size of their awards.

The disclosures follow the call by Mayor Boris Johnson for payments to be accelerated and will raise questions about the level of payments and the speed of processing.

Officials insist, however, the performance of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, which has been criticised in the past by MPs and victims, has improved. They point out that 27 applications have been received in the last 12 months - after the official deadline for claims expired - and that, apart from three claims which have been rejected, virtually everyone seeking compensation has received an offer.

Today's new figures show that 73 cases relating to the 7/7 bombings are outstanding, 46 of which were lodged prior to last year's second anniversary.

In 19 of these cases, a final offer of payment has been made and officials are waiting to hear if the claimants - of whom 12 have received interim payments - are willing to accept. Of the remaining 50 cases, 37 have received or been offered an interim payment, but 13 have still to receive any cash.

Six of these have only recently submitted claims, while of the other seven, three have been rejected. The other four victims have been made an offer but have yet to take any money.

A further four claims have been suspended because contact has been lost with the applicant, although these could be re-activated.

That means of the 20 yet to receive a penny, 11 have been made an offer, six are recent claimants, while the others have been deemed to be ineligible.

Among the reasons for the failure to resolve the other outstanding cases is the absence of supporting evidence from police or medical documentation.

In many of the cases where an interim payment has been made, the reason for a lack of full settlement is that it remains unclear what the long-term consequences - and costs - of the relevant injury might be.

Overall, today's figures show £7.5 million has been paid out and a further £1 million has been offered in compensation with 574 of the 647 applications now settled in full.

The maximum payment under the compensation scheme is £500,000. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authoritysaid it was continuing to resolve the remaining cases as swiftly as possible.