Tobias Ellwood today called for the Government to match commitments made by other countries including Spain, Australia and the United States who have set up reserve funds to assist nationals affected by terrorist incidents abroad.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Tobias congratulated the Government on many of the initiatives which will help those abroad affected by large scale incidents. He also stressed that more needs to be done to address the imbalance of support given to victims of terrorist attacks in the UK and abroad.

Tobias said:

"£50m was rightly allocated to those affected by 7/7 in London but any Britons caught up in terrorist incidents abroad receive no financial support at all. Terrorism is not limited by boundaries and our support for those affected by it should not be either.

UK insurance companies do not currently provide cover for British travellers affected by terrorism overseas. Similarly the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, which gave support to the victims of 7/7, is limited to UK shores.

I will continue to campaign for help for British nationals struggling to deal with the horrific consequences of terror attacks abroad."

Notes:

1. Tobias lost his brother Jon Ellwood in the Bali bombing on October 12th 2002

2. Today the Foreign and Commonwealth Office published 'Support for British Nationals Abroad: A Guide', designed to help British nationals in distress abroad. The booklet sets out to give advice to citizens on how to travel safely and to explain what help is available in emergencies.