Victims of the Troubles: Payment Scheme Debate
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Andrew Murrison
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Victims of the Troubles: Payment Scheme
Andrew Murrison Excerpts(4 years, 6 months ago)
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Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)
Order. I ask Members to keep their questions as concise as they can, because we have a lot of business today.
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)
I commend the Government for the progress that they have made on this matter. I draw the Minister’s attention to the forthcoming report by Mr William Shawcross. Can he say how much tax has been received by Her Majesty’s Government on transactions involving Gaddafi-related frozen assets? Does he agree that it is morally questionable for the Treasury to be benefiting from those assets while Northern Ireland’s victims of Gaddafi-sponsored terrorism are being short-changed?
Mr Walker
I pay tribute to the work that my right hon. Friend did on this as a Minister. The Government take this issue extremely seriously, which is why the Foreign Secretary appointed William Shawcross as special representative on UK victims of Gaddafi-sponsored terrorism. Mr Shawcross’s role will help to inform the Government’s approach to this issue. His report was recently received by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and is currently under consideration. I do not have the answer to the detailed question that my right hon. Friend asks, but I think this will be a matter for the Foreign Office to take forward.