Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has had discussions with political parties in Northern Ireland on the potential merits of compensating people affected by acts of terrorism perpetrated by the IRA using Libyan-supplied weapons as part of discussions relating to the restoration of power sharing.

The UK Government has profound sympathy for UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism and for all victims of The Troubles. Providing compensation specifically for the actions of the Qadhafi regime, separate from the support available to victims of the Troubles, is the responsibility of the Libyan State.

The Secretary of State and I engage regularly with the Northern Ireland parties on a large variety of issues and do not give a running commentary on these discussions.