Libya: IRA

(asked on 13th January 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have lodged a claim with the government of Libya on behalf of those UK citizens who suffered losses resulting from Libya’s support for IRA terrorists during the Northern Ireland Troubles.


Answered by
 Portrait
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 27th January 2020

The Libyan Government has a responsibility to deal with the legacy of the Qadhafi regime, as part of a broad process of national and international reconciliation and justice. We have a longstanding position of not pursuing government-to-government negotiations with Libya on behalf of victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism, but we continue to provide facilitation support to victims, their representatives and campaign groups. Ministers and our diplomats continue to press the Libyan authorities to engage constructively. The Government takes this issue extremely seriously, which is why on 6 March 2019, the Foreign Secretary appointed William Shawcross as Special Representative on UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored terrorism.

Reticulating Splines