BILLIONS of pounds have been spent on the aftermath of terrorism, according to a report from the Peace Centre highlighting the price of extremism.

But bosses from the Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace said running the charity’s programes, which supports victims and carries out prevention work, only costs £400,000 a year.

Relatives of victims involved in the London 7/7 bombings, victims’ commissioner Baroness Helen Newlove and supporters of the foundation gathered at the charity’s headquarters in Great Sankey last Wednesday to mark the 20th anniversary of the Warrington bombing.

The charity was set up by Colin and Wendy Parry in memory of 12-year-old Tim Parry and three-year-old Johnathan Ball who died in the IRA blast.

Since then staff have worked tirelessly to promote peace and have relied on funding and the generosity of people in Warrington to keep going having never received Government, EU or private sector funding.

The centre will lose funding from the National Lottery this year and many speakers called on more support from the government.

Chief executive Nick Taylor said: “The remarkable outcomes we achieve are done so at a very modest cost.

“We cannot afford political violence, in human terms or in terms of our economic wellbeing.

“What we can afford is to fund appropriate and effective preventative, responsive and resolution services – the type of services embodied in the foundation’s programmes.

“Investment in the long-term will see a significant return.

“Nobody is born a terrorist and if we are clever we can take them off that trajectory.”

Speakers including human rights lawyer Jason McCue also paid tribute to the work of the centre.

He said: “We must be proactive to terrorism rather than reactive.

“The government must recognise the society’s debt (to the peace centre) and do more to support them.”

While Baroness Newlove said she will be looking to work closely with the foundation over the next three years and will ‘make sure Westminster opens it doors to Warrington.’

The cost of terrorism figures: The 1996 Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) attack on Manchester City Centre caused damage to 1,200 buildings over an area of 1.2 million m2.

Key streets were closed for up to 18 months.

The 7/7 London bomb attacks in 2005 led to £2 billion being taken from the UK economy as a result of the impact on transport, high street spending and extra security costs.

If all 700 people injured in the London bombing visited A&E, the costs would be around £75,600 but further treatment costs are unknown.

A survivor of extremist violence on maximum disability allowance with a family member acting as carer will receive £9,877.40 per annum.

During 2011/12, 17 people received prison sentences under terrorism legislation at a cost of approx £2.2m over the next five years.