Libya: Arms to the IRA

Lord Browne of Belmont Excerpts

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?