Victims of Libyan-sponsored IRA Terrorism: Compensation

Tom Elliott Excerpts

Tuesday 13th September 2016 Westminster Hall

[Tom Elliott (Fermanagh and South Tyrone) (UUP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Ryan, and I welcome the debate that the hon. Member for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge) has secured. He clearly highlighted the good work that is ongoing at the moment but I have to say that, in the end, it is not enough. I support his aspiration regarding what should have happened, and the Minister’s point about what should have happened under a past Government regime. I have a sense of frustration about that, just as the victims do, but we are where are we are and further work will be needed. I welcome the Bill of my colleague, Lord Empey, in the other House, but it will take work from this Government to move that forward.

I certainly do not want to pretend that I have a monopoly on the representation of victims, but I remind hon. Members of the Enniskillen poppy day bomb in my constituency back in 1987, which killed 11 people. We do not have any conclusions on that. Even though the Historical Enquiries Team promised a report four years ago, we still do not have it, and we still do not have any progress.

I believe that there are people out there who could help that investigation in identifying some aspects about the weapons and support that came from Libya. Some of those people are very senior in the Northern Ireland Executive now. Indeed, I believe that the Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, could give support, help and assistance, but it appears that he is not prepared to do so. If we are going to deal with the past and aspects relating to Libya, Martin McGuinness and his colleagues need to come out and be absolutely clear on where they stood, what they have done in the past, and how they assisted. I want to see progress on that.

Somebody earlier mentioned fairness. This is about fairness. We hear of the millions of pounds that are going to other inquiries in Northern Ireland and on mainland UK. Why can other victims not have a share of that, whether it comes from Libya or other places? They need that equality and support as well, and they are not getting it. I know of several police officers and Ulster Defence Regiment members who were murdered. Their families got a few thousand pounds in compensation, but that is not appropriate, and it is certainly not fair when we hear of the millions going to victims now. I want to see that addressed and the balance redressed.

I am pleading with you, Minister, please, in the lifetime of this Parliament, make sure that we resolve this matter now, so we are not coming back to it in five years’ time and having the same debate. I believe that you have the wherewithal to do it. The Libyan Government have accepted the principle in the past by giving other countries compensation. I am pleading with you now: please do it for your own citizens. Do it for the citizens of the United Kingdom, which includes those in Northern Ireland as well.

Libya

Tom Elliott Excerpts

Tuesday 19th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

The statement that my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary made yesterday clarified that point. Where troops or personnel are embedded in the military forces of other nations, they are treated as being part of those forces for operational purposes; they are not covered by the commitment we have made to come back to the House. It would be absurd if a British pilot embedded in the US navy, for example, maintaining our carrier base skills ahead of the commissioning of our own carriers in 2018, had to be the subject of a debate in the House of Commons because of some decision taken by the US Government.

[Tom Elliott (Fermanagh and South Tyrone) (UUP)]

In answer to a question last week, the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the hon. Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), said that the Government would facilitate a visit of UK victims of terrorism that involved Semtex to Libya in the near future. Now that the Foreign Secretary has gone there, is there any timescale for when we can expect such a visit?

[Mr Hammond]

I do not think that the conditions would be right for such a visit right now, and I cannot see exactly what the point would be at this stage. Once the Government of national accord are established in their Ministries, with access to their records and their competent civil servants, and once our ambassador is back in Tripoli, I will certainly be prepared to see what we can do to facilitate such a visit.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Elliott Excerpts

Tuesday 12th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Tom Elliott (Fermanagh and South Tyrone) (UUP)]

T3. The Minister will be aware of reports that Libya paid $1.5 billion into the US compensation fund for relatives of victims of terror blamed on Libya. Why have the UK victims of IRA terrorism that used Libyan Semtex not received similar support? The Minister recently indicated that he would support those victims of IRA terrorists who used Semtex. What is he doing and what support is in place for them?

[Mr Ellwood]

It is for a previous Government to explain why that opportunity was missed when the United States advanced discussions in that area. What I have done, in meetings both in Belfast and here in London with those victims of terrorism that involved Semtex or, indeed, that was supported by Gaddafi, is facilitate a visit to Tripoli when the security measures allow it.

UK’s Relationship with the EU

Tom Elliott Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

I think that if my hon. Friend looks at the detail of the Iceland-China agreement, he will see that it provides more political opportunities for China to develop the relationship with Iceland, rather than any opportunities for Iceland to sell goods or services on the Chinese market. When negotiating trade access with a country of 1.3 billion or 1.4 billion people, we get more leverage as part of a market of 500 million people than as a single country of 65 million. That is the message we get from global trading partners such as China and the United States.

[Tom Elliott (Fermanagh and South Tyrone) (UUP)]

Will the Minister confirm whether there are any proposals in the current negotiations to change the relationship between the United Kingdom courts and the European Court of Human Rights?

[Mr Lidington]

The straight answer is no, because the European Court of Human Rights is not part of the European Union. My right hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor is working on proposals to deliver the Conservative manifesto commitment to a British Bill of Rights. I am sure that he will make an announcement in due course.

European Union Referendum Bill

Tom Elliott Excerpts

Tuesday 9th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Tom Elliott (Fermanagh and South Tyrone) (UUP)]

Let me begin my maiden speech by congratulating you, Madam Deputy Speaker, on your election. I look forward to impartiality throughout the Chamber. I am also grateful to you for calling me to speak in the EU referendum debate. What an interesting debate it is in which to make a maiden speech, especially because it unites so many Members from different parties. By and large, it unites Members on either side of the political divide. I shall be interested to see what happens as the Bill proceeds, and how many members of each party support their leadership.

I pay tribute to the people of Fermanagh and South Tyrone, who took on a great challenge to elect me. The Fermanagh and South Tyrone voice has not been heard in this place for the last 14 years. I am grateful to the people who put their faith in me, and I know that they will want to be rewarded for that. I also want to record my thanks for the contribution of the previous Member of Parliament. Although she did not sit in this place, she went out of her way to campaign on mental health issues.

Some other quite flamboyant Members have preceded me, notably Ken—now Lord—Maginnis. He was quite reserved and backward about speaking; I am sure that people will remember that. [Laughter.] Over the past 65 years the constituency has changed from nationalist to Unionist, and vice versa, on no fewer than seven occasions, notching up some notable records on the way, such as what I understand to be the still unbeaten 93.4% turnout in 1951. I wonder whether there will be the same turnout for the European referendum when it comes about. In the 2010 election, not so far away, there was a majority of one: the seat was won by a single vote. I bet not many other constituencies can equal that.

Another former Member of Parliament for Fermanagh and South Tyrone was Frank Maguire. He did not normally turn up in this place, but, unusually, he did so on one occasion in order to abstain in person, and actually brought down the Government of the day. The Labour Government had expected him to vote for them, and to keep them in place.

Mine is a very interesting constituency, and I hope to be here for much longer than the short periods that became established some time ago. It is the most westerly constituency in the United Kingdom. Last weekend, in the constituency, I attended a commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the battle of Waterloo. What a privilege it was to remember the two great regiments that were raised in Enniskillen. It was a momentous occasion.

Coming from that area, I have a farming background. I make no apology for standing up for rural communities, because I think that they face a hugely difficult task. However, my constituency also has a strong engineering base, which stretches from Severfield, a United Kingdom-based company with a branch in Ballinamallard, County Fermanagh, to Dungannon, where there are a number of light engineering companies.

We also have a great tourist industry in Fermanagh. The lakes of Fermanagh are known far and wide, and I say to any Member who might not have visited Fermanagh to see the beauty of the lakes, “Shame on you, and I hope you’ll do that in the not too distant future.”

I want to put on record what we have been through over the past 45 years. Things have moved on; things have progressed in Northern Ireland, and we are happy about that. We would, however, like to see more progress, and I want to remind people that we in Fermanagh and South Tyrone have suffered some terrible atrocities. Three individual family members were murdered in three different incidents by the IRA. We had the Enniskillen bomb, which killed—murdered—11 people; I am sure we all remember that.

Those victims and their families have still not got justice, and I will want to remind the House on every occasion I can that they deserve justice, as do all the other families in Northern Ireland who deserve such justice. We need a new definition of a victim, because the definition we have is not appropriate. How can we equate the perpetrator of the serious crime of murder with the family of the person they murdered? That is not fair or right. We are debating the EU referendum, and at least the European definition of a victim is much better than that which we have in Northern Ireland, and I would like to see that implemented much further than it is.

I thank everyone who voted for me, and I thank those who did not, because they will get exactly the same service from me in the constituency.