By Hannah Dawson For The Daily Mail
Published: 01:49 BST, 24 June 2019 | Updated: 01:50 BST, 24 June 2019
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Grieving relatives of victims of the London Bridge terror attack have been told they will not receive legal aid as it is not in the public interest.
MPs have condemned the move as an 'insult' as lawyers for the families of the eight victims said their legal aid applications have been denied, The Times reports.
Government agencies have used public funds to hire highly-skilled and expensive legal teams to represent their interests in court, the families' lawyers added.
Grieving relatives of victims of the London Bridge terror attack have been told they will not receive legal aid as it is not in the public interest. Pictured: Julie and Mark Wallace, the parents of an Australian au pair Sara Zelenak who was killed in the attack
Lawyers acting pro bono for the families have called on ministers to rethink the current policy in which state bodies can have tax-payer funded legal teams while victims' must represent themselves in court or self-fund.
More than 40 cross-party MPs have signed a motion demanding that the families of people killed in terrorist attacks are given non-means-tested funding.
Stephen Lloyd, MP for Eastbourne who tabled the motion, told The Times: 'The Ministry of Justice's approach to the matter is an insult to all those who have lost loved ones in tragedies such as these.
'French citizens, for example, if caught up in terrorist attacks, are automatically entitled to state-funded legal representation in court proceedings..' Under Ministry of Justice rules, legal aid is not deemed necessary at inquests as the proceedings are not confrontational, unlike court cases.
Only under exceptional circumstances can families apply for
