IRA compensation bid returns to Commons

A new tactic is to be deployed this week to push through a bill which would empower victims of Libyan-sponsored IRA terrorism to tap billions of pounds of the state's frozen assets for compensation.
By The Newsroom
Published 27th Mar 2017, 08:00 BST
Updated 8th Apr 2017, 22:28 BST
Garda officers uncover a cache of Libyan weapons bound for the IRA on Five Fingers beach, Co Donegal in 1988Garda officers uncover a cache of Libyan weapons bound for the IRA on Five Fingers beach, Co Donegal in 1988
Garda officers uncover a cache of Libyan weapons bound for the IRA on Five Fingers beach, Co Donegal in 1988

This month the government blocked the Asset Freezing (Compensation) Bill, which aims to gain access to £9.5bn-worth of assets linked to former dictator Colonel Gaddafi, which have been frozen in London by the UN.

Gaddafi was found to have secretly shipped many tonnes of weapons and Semtex to the IRA which were used to kill and maim many hundreds of IRA victims across the British Isles.

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The bill had begun in the House of Lords with UUP peer Lord Empey, but was blocked in the House of Commons by the government at the start of the month.

The bill came up again for mention in the Commons on Friday, when again, a government MP vetoed it.

However, Lord Empey has told the News Letter that the fight to push the bill into law will take another twist this week when he will attempt to smuggle it in through the back door by attaching it to another government bill currently making its way through parliament.

“The government’s Criminal Finance Bill will be debated on Tuesday and I have tabled an amendment to the bill which is basically the same as the Libyan Asset Freezing (Compensation) Bill,” he said.

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Whether the amendment makes it into law depends very much on support it may get in the Commons, where he says there is substantial cross-party support from backbenchers.

However, if he successfully attaches his amendment to the Criminal Finance Bill tomorrow, it will automatically secure a formal debate on Libyan assets with the government in the House of Commons, which has been a key aim of the bill’s supporters, he said.

“The government continues to object to the bill,” he said.“They are arguing there is a UN resolution that has frozen these assets, as well as a EU dimension [to the freezing of the assets].

“But we think they should go to the UN for permission on humanitarian grounds, to help the victims of terrorism by liquidating some of these assets.”

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The government’s main objection to his bill, he believes, is the UN resolution.

He said: “There are very few cases where assets have been frozen in the UK by international agreement, as has happened in this case.”

Victims’ campaigner Willie Frazer first conceived of suing Libya for compensation for IRA victims together with Omagh bomb civil action lawyer Jason McCue when the pair met in Co Armagh some 15 years ago.

His colleague Barrie Halliday said that “this is the time for the government to put all its rhetoric about putting victims of terrorism first into action by pushing this bill into law”.

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Supporters of the bill are angered that US citizens who were injured or lost loved ones through Libyan-sponsored terrorism have already secured substantial compensation from Libya.

They believe that the UK government deliberately declined to secure compensation for UK citizens in order to maintain political and economic links with Col Gaddafi and the Libyan state.

Related topics:IRAHouse of Commons