NORTHERN IRELAND AFFAIRS COMMITTEE – INQUIRY INTO HM GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR UK VICTIMS OF IRA ATTACKS THAT USED GADDAFI-SUPPLIED SEMTEX AND WEAPONS
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS BY MISS PAMELA WHITE
Personal Injury
Loss of Health
Personal Suffering
Loss of Police Career
1 My name is Pamela White I am a former London Metropolitan Police Officer.
2 17th December 1983 started as any other normal working day. I was on duty in Chelsea. At 12 45pm I responded to a call for a suspected car bomb device planted outside the famous Harrods Department Store. At that time London was receiving regular ongoing threats of terrorist violence from the IRA Like the majority of my colleagues I had previously dealt with numerous hoax calls. It was the last Saturday before Christmas and Harrods was packed both inside and out with Christmas shoppers.
3 Along with other colleagues I evacuated the area in Hans Crescent to protect the public and began searching under the parked cars outside Harrods. I met a colleague and friend Jane Arbuthnot and spoke to her briefly I turned my back to walk away from her when the device activated approximately 12 feet from me - It was about 40 minutes after we had received the initial warning. I now know that approximately 30lbs of explosives filled the car.
4 The force lifted me - I hit the ground and could not believe what had happened I was covered with glass and debris I had survived with no major injuries 2 of my colleagues were killed in front of me including Jane and Noel Lane as well as other civilians. Others were very seriously injured. Inspector Stephen Dodd died of his injuries a week later. In total 3 police and 3 civilians were killed and over 90 injured. I stayed at the scene to assist with both police and civilian casualties.
5 Initially I was in a kind of daze for many weeks it all seemed so unreal -the shock of losing 3 colleagues was very hard to come to terms with.
I resumed normal police duties but nothing was normal to me. My fiancée who was also a police officer did not seem to understand - his view was that I had survived other hadn't - just be grateful to be alive and move on. I tried but it wasn't that easy. I somehow felt guilty that I had survived and could not understand why I had survived and they hadn't.
6 I felt very excluded and isolated from my colleagues and to a certain extent other people. I had no visible injuries so to others I appeared unhurt. My injuries were invisible I was ostracised by my colleagues who I felt believed I was trying to gain attention and sympathy: I was forced to change police station I lost confidence in dealing with everyday situations whilst at work but I could not ask for help for fear of being seen as weak and losing my career. The longer this carried on the worse it became to ask for help and I deliberately tried to avoid dealing with certain incidents such as road traffic accidents which reminded me of the carnage of December 17th
7 I don't recall any initial debrief or counselling following the incident and I feel now that this would have helped as nobody wanted to talk about it I developed physical symptoms which I had never had before -sweating, palpitations, sleep problems, nightmares, flashbacks etc By February 1984 I was very ill and placed in the Police medical centre at Hendon for nearly 6 months where I was subsequently diagnosed with severe anxiety state, tinnitus and Irritable Bowel Syndrome/colitis Fortunately my family were very supported and have continued to be so but no one could understand exactly how I felt because they had not been there
In April 1984 I was very distressed by the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan embassy and this also added to my anxiety that I might be physically injured again whilst on duty.
8 My physical injuries at the scene were slight (tinnitus) compared to the post-traumatic stress disorder I was later diagnosed with. I still suffer with it today as well as tinnitus I returned to work but my confidence was shattered I was placed on restricted duties and my hopes of taking promotion were squashed. In 1986 I was given a medical discharge from the police with 51% disability assessment I was very sad and angry about this as I had lost my career with just under 6 years service and a job I loved and my health has never been the same since My relationship also ended and I had to move out of my home For many years afterwards I was very troubled and angry about what had happened to my colleagues and myself. No one was prosecuted but I have had to live with this
9 A turning point for me in the long term was my first visit to Northern Ireland in 1999 organised by the Maranatha group. I met with others who had suffered and also met for the first time the face of the enemy I met with a former IRA member and a former member of a Loyalist paramilitary organisation who were actively involved in peace and reconciliation work.
10 I personally had to forgive to be able to move on. I read about forgiveness but actually doing it was another thing. In 2001 I publicly forgave the IRA for what they did to me personally and this has enabled me to get rid of much of the anger within me. This led to further meetings with those who had been members of the IRA However I have not been able to forget what happened and all the recent terrorist atrocities are a further reminder of what happened to me It is something that will never leave me
11 I underwent training to become a peer support worker with a view to "being there" for those who have been affected as a result of terrorist exposure. I have since assisted victims of the London 7/7 bombings.
I ventured over to the Republic of Ireland and got involved with the LIVE (lets involve the victims experiences) group at Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation project I then went on to storytelling events to hear other victims share similar stories and for the first time I realised that I was not alone. I met a woman who had been injured in another IRA attack and that helped My journey led to becoming a member of an ex-combatants group and a sustainable peace project at Glencree, Ireland with visits to South Africa to learn from the peace and reconciliation model.
12 I had an opportunity to share my story and explain why I felt terrorism as I saw it was wrong. My family could not understand why I wanted to do this and it was my decision. It was valuable to me as I feel it is vital that the perpetrators of violence understand the effects their actions have on victims I feel this has a role in building social cohesion and preventing conflict/terrorism in the future I have met some wonderful and courageous people who have suffered like myself including Michael Gallagher whose family lost their son in the Omagh Bombing in 1998.
13 Several years ago I became aware through the media of a law case by a London law firm which was going through the American legal system with a case against Colonel Gaddafi for supplying Semtex to the IRA which was used in several IRA attacks including the Harrods Bombing. This was the first time I became aware of this.
14 I approached the law firm several times and was told I was not eligible as I was on duty as a Police officer at the time of the bombing They also told me I was too late to apply I explained that I was not aware that the firm was trying to find victims/survivors I could not believe that due to my uniform I was not eligible. This to me creates a hierarchy of victims and after all I had gone through this seemed to be totally wrong and unjust not only for me but for all my police colleagues injured and the families of the police officers who were killed
15 The civilian victims of these incidents under this claim were entitled to seek justice and claim compensation however in my case as a police officer on duty I was informed I was not entitled and could not be part of that claim - this doesn’t seem right and I feel it’s outrageous that emergency services personnel can be treated in this way and can be excluded. This also applies to the families of the three police officers who died doing their job Why??
16 Surely every victim of an IRA bomb is a legitimate victim regardless of what they were doing at the time of the detonation and is entitled to fair treatment and justice Anything else is not acceptable and is unjust.
The inquest of the Harrods Bombing concluded that the sole purpose of the bomb was to lure police officers to their death - Police officers like myself risked our lives and were the targets and yet are excluded from any justice or compensation My colleagues who died were doing their job - it was not their job or my job to be blown up by a bomb We were all just ordinary people doing our job to protect the public and uphold the law
17 Several years ago I approached my MP George Osborne who was helpful and forwarded my concerns to William Hague. The reply back from William Hague was that the Government could not assist as it was a private matter I was very disappointed and despondent I kind of gave up on this as it appears to me to be impossible for an individual like myself to know how to tackle something as big as this and I do not have the funds to support this however the injustice goes on. I also do not have the legal training or knowledge to be able to know where to go next
18 Last year I noted that David Cameron was making it a priority to help victims of IRA supplied semtex Again I felt excluded and further aggrieved as I was not part of the group with the court case
19 In June this year I then read about the proposed Victims Pensions Bill the Stormont House Agreement and now a Northern Ireland Assembly Bill proposing pensions for Northern Ireland victims of terrorism – including perpetrators but excluding victims like myself in in Great Britain Again more injustice
20 I am aware that Americans injured at the Harrods bombing have had their demands for justice and financial compensation met with the assistance of their Government whereas in the UK this has not been the case.
21 Again Why? It is totally wrong that American victims can receive compensation and justice for injury in the same incident when I am excluded together with the families of police officers killed
22 I also feel that most of financial support and assistance to victims of IRA terrorism has been very difficult for victims to assess who are not resident in Northern Ireland Over the years it has been extremely difficult to access support in Britain Victims in Britain have been ignored
23 Now I am aware of the investigation being undertaken by this Parliamentary Committee and request that this testimony is added to the record of the evidence taken by NIAC despite being submitted after the deadline of 1st September 2015. This was because I have only become recently aware yesterday of this Parliamentary investigation and I was out of the country
24 I strongly believe that I together with police families of the victims and other colleagues injured are entitled to the same rights as civilians injured at the Harrods bombing and should receive fair and just treatment
25 I now want to know why I, as a former serving police officer injured doing my job, feel excluded from the group of victims who lost their lives or were injured as a result of Libyan supplied Semtex and weapons and why the path to compensation, reparation and most importantly truth, was seemingly blocked by politicians in deals with Colonel Gaddafi
26 Will those politicians be held to account on what they knew about the supply of Semtex and weapons from Libya and other countries which might have prevented the Harrods Bombing and other terrorist incidents
27 What compensation is available to victims like myself? If the American government can look after their victims of the Harrods bombing why can’t my Government do the same for me? I understand that there are substantial frozen assets from Gaddafi and I ask that they be released to support victims such as myself I have not been in paid employment since December 2013
28 This enquiry must include the truth about what happened
Pamela White 30/9/15