Ulster Unionist Peer Lord Empey has reported progress following a meeting with senior Cabinet Office officials in London to discuss how best to advance the Ulster Unionist campaign to get justice for the victims of Gadaffi supplied weapons.

Lord Empey said;

“Earlier this year I received an answer to a Parliamentary Question that indicated that Her Majesty’s Government was not pursuing this matter with the Government of Libya. This was in stark contrast to the contents of a letter sent to me by David Cameron in November 2011 in which he said that it was a priority for his government to pursue this issue.

“Following the negative response, I wrote to the Government and was encouraged by the answer to a further oral question. The Prime Minister subsequently announced that he was asking his National Security advisor Sir Kim Darroch to conduct a review of Government policy towards Libya and the question of compensation for victims.

“Following my meeting with Cabinet Office officials, including Sir Kim, I am greatly encouraged by the decision to set up this review and I have made suggestions as to how HMG should conduct its policy. Both the French and the Americans successfully negotiated settlements with Libya, but for some unexplained reason London did not, despite the fact that so many of the victims of the weapons supplied by Gadaffi are UK citizens.

“While there is chaos in Libya at present and no coherent government in place, this will change over time. What I am anxious to achieve is the full commitment of HMG to deal with this issue when the opportunity arises and not leave it to individual victims to try and take legal action on their own.

“Gadaffi created many victims by supplying the IRA with deadly weaponry and these people must not be forgotten or abandoned to their own fate. I am determined that this matter is addressed and resolved however long that may take.”