British family win £1m terrorism compensation from Turkey
A British family who were the victims of a terrorist attack while on holiday in 2005 have been awarded more than £1m by the Turkish government.
Helen Bennett, from Spennymoor, County Durham, was one of five people killed in the bomb attack, orchestrated by Kurdish separatist group, the PKK, on a tourist mini-bus in Kusadasi in July 2005.
Five other members of Miss Bennett's family, including her fiance Stephen Stables, were injured in the attack, with members of the group suffering limb and muscle damage, hearing loss and flashbacks.
Following a two-year legal battle, the family have been told they will be awarded more than £1 million, after lawyers argued the extent of their injuries meant some of them could never work again and would require special care for the rest of their lives.
Sharon Holden, Miss Bennett's mother, who was not on the bus, said they felt let down by British authorities after being told they were not entitled to compensation because the scheme, which awarded victims of the July 7 bombings money, did not extent to terrorist acts abroad.
"We have been let down and are still being let down by our own government, which effectively turned its back on us. We were left on our own. Four years on and the Turkish government has done what our own government should have done for us", she said.
Jill Greenfield, who took on the case, said: "Eventually we were told that the family was eligible, but it amounted to a few thousands pounds only. That clearly wasn't going to be good enough, so we set about reviewing their own scheme, effectively a judicial review, to see if they could be eligible for more."
Now Mrs Greenfield is calling on the British government to introduce a compensation scheme for those injured in terror attacks abroad.
"Individuals should not be paying the price for what in essence is an attack on society. It ought to be the government taking responsibility, appreciating that these people are the victims of what is, in essence, a political issue. Otherwise you let the terrorist win", she told Channel 4 News.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "Jack Straw has made victims rights one of his top priorities since becoming Justice Secretary. We have delivered major improvements but the government will continue to work tirelessly to find further ways of supporting the victims of all crimes.
"A working group has been set up to look at the issue of improving support for victims of terrorism abroad and ministers are carefully considering their recommendations."
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