Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of William Shawcross’ report on compensation for UK victims of Gaddafi-sponsored IRA terrorism, submitted to the Government in March 2020; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of publishing that report on the peace process in Northern Ireland.

The Government is unshakeable in its commitment to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, the culmination of the hard-won gains of the peace process which has transformed the political and economic life of Northern Ireland since it was agreed in 1998.

The then Foreign Secretary set out the Government's position on Mr Shawcross's report on compensation for UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism in a Written Ministerial Statement made on 23 March 2021. Mr Shawcross's report was commissioned as an internal scoping report, to provide advice to Ministers. Its content is based on private, confidential conversations and information shared on this basis. The UK Government reiterates its sympathy for UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism and indeed for all victims of the Troubles.