Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to help restore democracy to Libya.

The UK fully supports the UN-led political process in Libya and the efforts of the UN Special Representatives Ghassan Salamé to bring Libyans together to make political progress. I visited Libya on 8 – 9 April and met representatives and a number of senior politicians, including from the Libyan Government of National Accord; I emphasised the need for all parties to engage fully in the UN-led process and to be willing to compromise for the national interest. Mr Salamé’s political roadmap aims to build consensus on the need to move towards elections; we agree that elections are an important part of Libya’s political transition, although they must be preceded by necessary political, legislative and security preparations to be a success. We shall continue to work with Libyans and the international community in order to make progress towards political agreement and the establishment of a more united and effective Government in Libya.