Exeter bomb residents passed from pillar to post

Exeter MP takes up concerns

Some homeowners caught up in last week's bomb blast in Exeter are being passed from pillar to post when it comes to find out who will pay for the damage.

Many properties suffered structural problems following the controlled detonation of a World War Two 'Hermann' bomb which had lain undiscovered for nearly 80 years until builders chanced up on it.

Royal Navy and army bomb disposal experts were unable to move it safely, and the subsequent blast affected a wide area.

Now Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw has asked the secretary of State for defence Ben Wallace and home secretary Priti Patel to metaphorically knock heads together.

Mr Bradshaw says the defence secretary initially told him he believed liabilities from the incident might fall to the developer of the site.

But the Exeter MP has a different message from an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) briefing that says: “liability for damage caused by EOD intervention typically falls to the Home Office.”

A summary of a letter from Mr Bradshaw to both Mr Wallace and Ms Patel says: "Residents whose properties and vehicles have been damaged have been instructed to approach their insurance companies. It has emerged that some residents have been told by their insurers to contact the Home Office instead.

Mr Bradshaw has raised bomb concerns with the home secretary and defence secretary 

"I am very concerned that residents - including a private care home which experienced severe damage to their building and others who were displaced, whose properties or vehicles have been damaged and who have been distressed by the experience - may now face resistance or refusal from their insurers to process claims and to pay out.

"Other residents face smaller repair costs that fall below their insurance excess. I have asked the government to provide an urgent clarification of where liability for the damage and costs lies. I have also asked the government to provide a fund to cover residents’ costs where home or vehicle insurers refuse to pay, where householders are uninsured or underinsured, or where costs fall below the insurance excess. Additionally, I have asked for consideration that this fund cover reasonable claims for compensation by residents directly affected.

"While I will ask the Financial Conduct Authority to consider the concerns I am hearing about insurers, I have asked the government to provide a briefing on the incident to insurance companies, and to use any powers they have to intervene where these firms refuse claims or direct claimants to the Home Office.

"The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the secretary of state has requested a 'post incident report' which will be shared with me once received. However, I have asked the government to provide a comprehensive and transparent investigation and report into the EOD intervention, and that this fully addresses the serious questions and concerns that have been raised with me about the decisions made, in the light of the serious impact the blast has had on local residents and properties.

"Some questions have been asked by residents about why the developer’s own site investigations did not reveal the presence of the bomb. I have asked the government to confirm whether they have spoken to the site owner and developer and whether this will form part of the MoD’s investigation and report, and/or whether there is reason to refer the matter to the Health and Safety Executive."