A FATHER horrifically blinded and disabled by a car bomb in Saudi Arabia ten years ago was a victim of a terrorist attack, the Government has finally admitted.

But David Brown, 41, who launched a selfless campaign for justice after the atrocities were covered up by Saudi authorities, has been told he will not be compensated.

British ex-pats were blamed for strapping a bomb under the Birkdale father-of-three’s car windscreen wipers in Al Khobar in 2000, costing him his sight and right arm.

Four Britons were wrongly convicted of the attack, falsely confessing their involvement in an alcohol bootlegging plot after enduring torture.

Mr Brown always believed Islamic militants sympathetic to al-Qaida were responsible, but was only finally vindicated this week.

Nearly ten years on, the Justice minister Claire Ward finally recognised that he was a “victim of a terrorism act overseas” – but has denied him access to any financial compensation.

Mr Brown heralded the announcement as a “small victory” but criticised the Government for never fully investigating the attack.

He said: “I am angry the Government didn't do more sooner. They kept quiet and went along with what the Saudi authorities said.

“Had these attacks been investigated properly, perhaps the acceptance of al-Qaida terrorism cells within Saudi Arabia would have been brought to attention much earlier and atrocities such as 9/11 and the Bali bombings could have been avoided.”