7/7 survivors are 'the forgotten'

Survivors of the 7 July London bombings say officials have made them feel like "the forgotten people".
Speaking to BBC London to mark the second anniversary of the tragedy, they spoke of their difficulty in trying to gain compensation for their injuries.

They also reiterated their demands for a public inquiry into the bombings on the city's transport network, which killed 52 people and injured hundreds.

The government said the victims had always been "very high on the agenda".

The attacks by four suicide bombers targeted three Tube trains and a bus on 7 July 2005.

'Psychologically traumatised'

Thelma Stober lost her leg in the Aldgate blast but says she has been treated insensitively by authorities.

"I wanted to have a prosthetic leg that would have a skin colour that matched my own but is seems they either had very light or very dark, nothing in between," she said.

"They said that it was winter anyway, so I could just cover up my leg."

She added: "The government said that they'd give everything to assist us. I'm still waiting for everything. I feel as if we're the forgotten people. We can't get assistance, we have to argue and fight for it."

Rachel North, who survived the bomb blast between King's Cross and Russell Square Tube stations, has been spearheading calls for a public inquiry.

She said: "When you're looking at between 700 to 800 people injured, some 3,000 psychologically traumatised and 52 dead, it's imperative that we have some kind of independent investigation into this."

'Helped a lot'

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has co-ordinated the government's response to victims of the bombings, to prevent those affected having to deal with several different departments.

A spokeswoman said: "The victims are very high on the agenda, they have a dedicated minister dealing with them and we've responded to every letter we've received.

"I can understand their grievances and we are doing the best we can.

"The department has helped a lot of people with everything from housing to making wills."