Reg Empey: Why as the principal victims of IRA-Libya terror did the UK not secure compensation?

The issue of Tony Blair's deal with Colonel Gaddafi has bedevilled numerous attempts by victims, their lawyers and by Parliament to get to the bottom of this scandal.
By The Newsroom
Published 27th Jun 2018, 15:06 BST
Updated 16th Jul 2018, 16:49 BST
The suspicion has always lurked that something arose from deal in the tent when Tony Blair as prime minister met Colonel Muammar Gaddafi at his desert base outside Sirte south of Tripoli in 2007, above. Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA WireThe suspicion has always lurked that something arose from deal in the tent when Tony Blair as prime minister met Colonel Muammar Gaddafi at his desert base outside Sirte south of Tripoli in 2007, above. Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire
The suspicion has always lurked that something arose from deal in the tent when Tony Blair as prime minister met Colonel Muammar Gaddafi at his desert base outside Sirte south of Tripoli in 2007, above. Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

Why, as the principal victims of the IRA semtex-fuelled campaign of terror, did the UK government do nothing to resolve the compensation issue?

The US, France and Germany all received compensation for their victims, yet the UK didn’t even ask!

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In his evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee last year, Tony Blair’s former foreign secretary Jack Straw, when asked about compensation, replied that victims HAD received compensation.

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Well we all know that some limited help was available to the bomb victims, but that was from British taxpayers and not from Libya where it should have come from.

The suspicion has always lurked that there was something in the background arising from the ‘deal in the tent’ when Tony met Gaddafi himself in the desert.

The response from the present Libyan representatives may be the tip of the iceberg.

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Lots of officials both in Tripoli and in London must know what went on.

Only when we know the details will we be able to answer the question as to why Her Majesty’s Government has done nothing for all these years.

Reg (Lord) Empey, London

Related topics:Tony BlairIRAParliamentFranceGermany