Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what representations he has received on whether the Hyde Park justice campaign should receive Legal Aid.

I would like to extend my deepest sympathy to all the families who lost loved ones in this appalling terrorist crime, for which there could be never be any justification. I would also like to reiterate this Government’s admiration for members of the Armed Forces, who served in Northern Ireland to uphold democracy and the rule of law.

I have received a number of representations about the Hyde Park bombing in 1982, and have been copied into correspondence from the families’ legal representatives to the Prime Minister. I am aware that in May 2016 my predecessor met members of the families and their legal representatives.

Decisions on the granting of Legal Aid are made independently of Ministers by the Legal Aid Agency. I fully understand, however, the families’ desire to see justice in this case.