Queen’s Speech

Lord Empey Excerpts

Thursday 17th May 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Empey]

My Lords, the Minister will not be surprised to learn that I want to say a few words about Libya. It is hard to believe that it was only last year that that nation was in turmoil and a bloody revolution to remove a vicious dictator was in full swing. I am pleased that our Prime Minister and Government took a robust stand against Gaddafi and led the world in the attempt to prevent the further enslavement of the Libyan people.

For decades, Gaddafi ruled by fear and violence. He was reviled and isolated by much of the world, but in more recent years he underwent something of a change in status. After he renounced the drive to obtain nuclear weapons, he was welcomed in western capitals, pitched his tent as appropriate, and growing trade relations were gradually being established, led in part by Britain. However, memories are short. It was not that long ago that we witnessed, within walking distance of this Chamber, the brutality of the Gaddafi regime when its agents shot dead PC Yvonne Fletcher.

That action was but the tip of the iceberg as far as the Gaddafi regime’s crimes against the people of this country were concerned. Gaddafi began to ship weapons to the Irish Republican Army in the early 1970s and the interception of the vessel “Claudia” by Irish defence forces in 1973 was proof positive of his hatred of this country. Following our support for President Reagan’s actions in bombing Libya in the 1980s, Gaddafi decided that he would wage war on the United Kingdom using the proxy of the Irish Republican Army. This was not the first time that our enemies have used the vehicle of Irish republicanism to attack this country. It happened at least twice in the 20th century alone. However, Gaddafi’s supply of vast quantities of weapons and explosives to the IRA in the 1970s and 1980s was by far the most audacious and effective in recent years. Intelligence sources estimated that boatloads of arms and explosives were landed in Ireland, with the interception of the “MV Eksund” in 1987 being the only success in that decade. Intelligence sources conceded that that had been a serious failure and very costly.

In addition to vast quantities of rifles and other arms, the supply of the explosive Semtex was the greatest boost to the terrorist arsenal. These explosives allowed the IRA to conduct a bombing campaign in Northern Ireland and in Great Britain for many years, and were its most potent weapon. Events such as the bombings of the Baltic Exchange and the Arndale centre in Manchester, and numerous attacks on soldiers in buses and even on the Blues and Royals on horseback were fuelled by Gaddafi’s largesse to these terrorists.

This context leads me to my main point. The Minister knows that I have raised the issue of compensation for the families of those killed and wounded in this House and elsewhere for some time. I began by writing to the then Foreign Office Minister, Mike O’Brien MP in 2002 and 2003 as well as to Prime Minister Tony Blair. Since then, I have met officials dealing with this matter and believe that a situation now exists where we can make some progress. When the newly elected Government of Libya are established, can the Minister confirm that there will be a UK Government-led initiative to ensure that the victims of the Gaddafi regime’s crimes get compensation?

I know that there are some third-party actions, led by lawyers acting for a number of victims, and I know that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is facilitating their meetings with the National Transitional Council. But well and good as that may be, I want an assurance that Her Majesty’s Government will lead the main negotiation with the new Government of Libya and not leave it to random groups of individuals and lawyers to take up the case. If this were to happen, many people in this country would lose out. It needs to be led from the front by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

I hope that the efforts made by the United Kingdom to free the people of Libya will not go unnoticed by the newly elected Government. The United Kingdom took great risks and, at the start of the revolution, the Prime Minister was being briefed against by our American allies and others. Many western democracies such as Germany did not lift a finger to help and left it to us, the French and eventually the United States, with some Gulf support, to carry all the risks. You can bet your bottom dollar that the Germans and others will be queuing up in Tripoli to get contracts and do business despite their lack of effort. They did the same in Iraq and I hope that our business leaders and other government departments will not allow us to be left behind again.

I fully understand that massive problems exist in Libya, with much of the country’s infrastructure destroyed and many unresolved tribal issues. The pressure on a new democratic Government will be from their own constituents who will want jobs and services restored. Nevertheless, a marker must be put down that we want a positive outcome to the question of compensation from Libya to the United Kingdom for the crimes of the previous Government of that country. There can be a debate about what form that should take, whether cash or other offset deals involving contracts or trade but, at the end of the day, we want justice for the people of this country. Other nations have pressed their cases in the aftermath of air hijackings and so on and we must be just as resolute.

Although most of the victims are to be found in Northern Ireland, I have always avoided seeing this as a provincial issue. Many other citizens of the UK were victims also. All the regular soldiers who were killed and injured and returned to Great Britain are the most obvious example. However, people were also injured in some of our cities, such as London, Manchester, Birmingham and Warrington, to name but a few. As victims can be found all over the United Kingdom, it must be dealt with as a national issue by the national Government. I trust that the Minister can give the people of this country the assurances and guarantees that I am seeking.