The government should not profit from compensation payments made to victims of the London bombings when its own policies may have contributed to the attacks, the Solicitors Pro Bono Group (SPBG) claimed last week.

SPBG acting chief executive Robert Gill said that lawyers had not provided advice to victims free of charge 'so that the government could save money'.


Mr Gill said he had learned that any payments made by the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority (CICA) as a result of the bombings are to be treated 'in the normal way'. That would mean victims who are currently in receipt of benefits will have the amount of the CICA payment deducted from their benefits.


Mr Gill said: 'This is a quite dreadful state of affairs, highlighting as it does the inflexibility of the current benefits system... We have the support of a great number of our member firms who feel that such a stance by government could mean that the Treasury benefits financially from the bombings.


'It is normal for CICA payments to be taken off benefits, but in these circumstances it should be different. It is about a particular set of actions which in part were brought about by the fact that Britain has taken a prominent role in Iraq - which was a government decision. Government action is part of the reason [for the events], so it is not fair that the government should benefit from private citizens who are injured.'


He added: 'It is too early in the process for [the deductions] to have happened yet. But we want to make [the issue] clear now.'


The SPBG also called on the government to follow the example of some other European countries and provide compensation to British citizens who fall victim to terrorism abroad. Mr Gill said: 'Citizens of France and Italy are entitled to compensation [from their home government] if they are attacked abroad.'


A spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions said: 'When the London Bombings Charitable Relief fund was established, we moved quickly to ensure that grants paid out by the fund would not affect benefit entitlements. It was a decision that required immediate change to legislation to bring it into effect. The changes related specifically to the London bombing atrocities and the fund set up to meet the needs of those people affected.


'As it stands, the CICA makes financial awards to victims of violent crime. All these payments are treated in the same way to be fair to all parties. Our compensation schemes pay out more compensation to more victims of crime than all other EU countries added together.'