THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The British Government was brokering a secret deal worth up to £10 billion with Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s regime before Libya descended into chaos, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.For the past 18 months a dedicated Foreign Office unit has been supporting lawyers fighting to win compensation for UK victims of IRA bombs built with Libyan-supplied explosives.
The team was in the advanced stages of discussing a “Victims’ Initiative” package with key members of Gaddafi’s regime.
The possible agreement would have included payouts for the 150 families of those killed and injured bringing the claim, as well as a huge “cultural and social” investment focusing on reconciliation projects, much of it in Northern Ireland.
Insiders said that since the Coalition came to power last May, Government efforts to secure a deal had been stepped up, with David Cameron and William Hague taking a personal interest in the talks.
Sources said the agreement would have seen Libya committing between £2 billion and £10 billion to the UK, as part of an effort to detoxify “Brand Libya”. >>> Rebecca Lefort | Saturday, Deptember 26, 2011
