Libya: Arms to the IRA

Debate between Lord Browne of Belmont and Baroness Warsi

Tuesday 25th March 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warsi]

As the noble Lord will be aware, some progress was made in relation to this matter at a time when Gaddafi was coming in from the cold, as it were. The noble Lord will be aware—as will other noble Lords—that Libya has been through a horrendously difficult period in its history. There has been huge change in Libya and there have been two national transitional Governments. Only two weeks ago, there was a further change in the leadership at the top, with Prime Minister Zeidan standing down, marking another transitional period in Libya’s history. We are working with Libya while it is going through this incredibly difficult period, but I will bear in mind the noble Lord’s comments.

[Lord Browne of Belmont (DUP)]

My Lords, the First Minister of Northern Ireland—my party leader—recently raised the issue of compensation from Libya once again directly with the Prime Minister. Does the Minister agree that, in the wake of the hurt done to innocent victims as a result of recent revelations of secret deals with republicans, it is vital that the Government move urgently to address this outstanding issue and to bring it to a successful conclusion as quickly as possible?

Kosovo

Debate between Lord Browne of Belmont and Baroness Warsi

Tuesday 29th January 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warsi]

The Government are making appropriate preparations in relation to people from Bulgaria and Romania who may wish to come to the United Kingdom. As the noble Baroness will be aware, the transition provisions for Bulgaria and Romania come off for the rest of the European Union at the same time, so the option for Bulgarians and Romanians to travel elsewhere in the European Union will also be open. I hope that the mistakes that were made—this is not a political point—in relation to Poland’s accession will not be made this time, because of the way in which we implemented the transition provisions.

[Lord Browne of Belmont]

My Lords, can the Minister confirm that the Government welcome the resolution passed by the Serbian Parliament on 13 January 2013, which calls for talks with the interim institutions of self-government in Pristina with the aim of securing security, peace, stability and better living conditions for the Serb community and for all other national communities in Kosovo and Metohija?

[Baroness Warsi]

I am not familiar with the specific resolution to which the noble Lord refers but I can assure him that in our discussions with Kosovo we regularly talk about the issue of minorities there, and we ensure that all such discussions cover the views of the minority communities, including those of the Serbs.