Steve Reed said more than £200 million in compensation has not been paid
A Croydon MP has hit out at the government for not paying victims of the London riots nearly two years on from the events.
Steve Reed, Labour MP for Croydon North, said that more than £200 million of government cash has still not been paid out, and accused them of abandoning those in the affected areas.
Speaking in a debate in Parliament, Mr Reed told MPs that victims feel like ministers have given up on them since the media glare has died down.
“It’s almost two years since the riots hit Croydon,” he said in a debate in Parliament.
“Businesses were burnt to the ground, shops were looted, homes were destroyed, the prime minister and mayor of London walked along the devastated London Road in the central point of Croydon and promised people they would not be forgotten, and while the state had failed to protect them during the riots it would stand by them as they try to rebuild their lives.”
The Home Office said more than 99% of uninsured claims had been settled following the riots.
“There are a small number of uninsured compensation claims still outstanding in Croydon, centred around a block of connected residential and commercial buildings,” said a Home Office spokesman.
“The Home Office is working closely with the Metropolitan Police, the mayor’s office, insurers and Croydon Council to settle the remaining claims as quickly as possible.”
Photo courtesy of Peter G Trimming, with thanks.
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