Tony Blair asked to give evidence in IRA-Libya compensation inquiry

Former PM Tony Blair has been asked to give evidence to a parliamentary committee investigating the failure to award compensation to UK victims of Libyan-sponsored IRA violence after a reparation deal was struck with late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Westminster’s Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has asked Blair about his involvement in negotiations that led to a compensation deal between the US and Libya in 2008.

US victims of terrorism were compensated £1 billion in return for Libyan immunity from terrorism-related lawsuits, effectively invalidating the claims of British victims who were suing Libya in US courts.

Lawyers for UK victims of attacks in which Libyan arms were used said Blair had “questions to answer” about why they were locked out of the deal amid speculation lucrative business agreements got in the way.

Gaddafi, who was killed during the Libyan civil war in 2011, supplied weapons and Semtex explosives to IRA militants during the Troubles.