Lancashire terror attack victim hits out at government for not supporting victims

Travis Frain OBE has been campaigning for Survivor's Charter to be put in place after he was caught up in the Westminster Bridge attack in 2017.

Author: Stan TomkinsonPublished 4th Apr 2024

A Lancashire man who survived a terror attack in London says the government's falling into complacency by not supporting survivors of terror.

Travis Frain OBE, from Darwen, was just 19 when he was caught up in the London Bridge attack in 2017.

He's been campaigning for a Survivors Charter to be put in place to guarantee support for survivors or terror.

Working with the Charity Survivors Against Terrorism they're calling for eight key guarantees:

  • Guaranteed proactive personal support
  • Guaranteed access to rapid psychological triage and services
  • Guaranteed immediate financial assistance
  • Guaranteed State Compensation Fund
  • Guaranteed legal support
  • Guaranteed Recognition
  • Guaranteed Memorialisation
  • Guaranteed comprehensive long-term support

A review by the government, led by the Victims of Terrorism Unit's still not been published.

Travis says he's concerned over the complacency: "I worry and I think many other victims worry and many other people watching politics today realise and recognise that the reason it hasn't been published and acted upon is because another major attack hasn't happened."

"We cannot begin to even discuss how to improve support for the victims of terrorism without publishing that review.

"That's been the stopgap that repeatedly, when we try to speak to government, they will continuously say 'we are looking at the review and we will get back to you later'.

"Later is impossible because that review finished in February last year, how much later is this going to go on?

"We need to publish the review and we can't see it being mothballed or pushed to the back of the queue for other issues that might have more political capital behind them."

Travis added: "I'm very dissapointed, I think that we're at a stage now where we've given the government a lot of leeway we've assisted them throughout the internal review and we have cooperated at every stage of this inquiry.

"The review is finished and to my knowledge I don't have any tangible reason why they haven't published it."

A Home Office spokesperson said:

“There is practical and emotional support available to anyone impacted by terrorism including a 24/7 support line, mental health assessments and referrals, and long-term peer support.

“We have worked to strengthen the support available to victims of terrorism, but know there is still more to do. That is why we are reviewing the support package provided to victims of terrorism to better address their needs.”

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