IN/0767

Victims of Omagh bomb were treated like dirt'
By Margaret Canning
Tyrone Correspondent

A MAN whose wife was killed in the Omagh bomb has said victims were treated "like dirt" while their claims for compensation were being dealt with.
Kevin Skelton was speaking after Secretary of State Peter Hain revealed that families of those who died in the 1998 atrocity had received more than £20 million in compensation.
Mr Hain said the amount represented the settlement of 826 out of 852 criminal-injury claims arising out of the bomb.
The figures were contained in a written reply to a question from the East Belfast DUP MP Peter Robinson.
Last night Mr Skelton, who lost his wife Philomena in the bombing, challenged the way in which the money was distributed.
"They talk about S20 million but I do not know where that went," Mr Skelton said.
"I think it goes to victims groups and not to the victims," he added.
Philomena, his 39-year-old wife and mother of their four children, was among the 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, who were killed in the bomb.
He said the approach taken by the Compensation Agency, which processed the claims, to calculating the value of his wife's life was "hurtful".
"They said the loss of my wife was not worth the minimum wage as she was a housewife," Mr Skelton said.
Mr Skelton's daughters Paula, Tracey and Shauna were also injured in the Real IRA car bomb.
He said Shauna, who was 13 at the time of the bomb, had been badly treated in the High Court when her injuries were being assessed.
"Solicitors were examining her face who were not qualified, even though she had attended doctors for up to three years and had a file 18 inches deep.
"I felt very bitter about it."
He said he was also bitter that his son Ray who was not in Omagh on the day of the bomb was not compensated for the loss of his mother.
"It was as if he did not exist as he was not in the circle on that day," Mr Skelton said.
Mr Skelton accused Prime Minister Tony Blair of using them as a political football.
"Tony Blair made a speech about how he would look after us in 1998 and he made the same speech about victims after the London bombings.
"I will be interested to see how the government deals with the innocent critters in London," he said.