Ex-judge tells of IRA bomb bid to murder him as he backs Libya compensation Bill
A FORMER senior judge has opened up about the day he and his wife were almost killed by an under-car bomb as he expressed his support for a bid to secure compensation for IRA victims from Libya.
Lord Carswell, a former Lord Chief Justice in Northern Ireland, was speaking during a discussion in the House of Lords about former UUP leader Lord Empey’s parliamentary Bill, which seeks compensation for those injured or killed as a result of IRA attacks sponsored by the regime of former Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, which supplied Semtex explosive and other weapons.
Lord Carswell said his wife was “badly affected” for a long time after the explosion, which damaged their car beyond repair.
He noted spotting the device under his car, but attempts to defuse it were only “partly successful”. The crossbench peer also recalled the death of a colleague and the impact it had on the victim’s family.
Lord Empey’s proposals include trying to help compensate those injured or killed as a result of IRA attacks Peers heard around £9.5bn of Libyan assets are frozen throughout the UK, although the Government has said international and EU law affects what can be done with the cash.
Speaking as the Lords debated the Bill, Lord Carswell said: “The day before I was sworn in as a High Court judge, a booby-trap bomb was left under my car. By the grace of God, I saw it and I escaped. A very brave ammunition technical officer risked his life to try to defuse it and, unhappily, was only partly successful. The explosion took place and there was an immense amount of damage done to my car — which was a write-off — my house, the contents and, by way of after-effect, my wife’s health. I had to get on with my job and happily I was able to do so. She was badly affected for a long time.
“A couple of years later, my very close friend and colleague, Maurice Gibson, was blown up in his car by a road-side bomb as he crossed the border with his wife. The car and its occupants were incinerated. The distress to his family, which I have seen closeup, can never be compensated sufficiently. But it should be registered and an attempt made.
“I really produce these remarks for the simple reason of showing that the distress and effects are real and personal to very many people.
“Most of them have suffered far more than I have, but I can appreciate their feelings and their wishes that this Bill should go through, and I have the pleasure of supporting it.”
Foreign Office Minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon said there are “some practical difficulties” with the Bill’s current drafting, adding that the Government is taking “practical steps” over the issue of compensation.
He said Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and his ministerial colleague Alistair Burt have made clear to victims’ groups the Government’s intention to “communicate effectively and step up engagement” on the issue directly with the Libyan authorities.
Lord Ahmad added: “It is important we do that in the interests of victims and their representatives.”
The Bill was given an unopposed second reading and will undergo further scrutiny at a later date.
Gaddafi, who was a major funder of the IRA, was killed in 2011 during an uprising following the Arab Spring. He supplied the IRA with weapons, money and training for more than 20 years.
❝ A booby-trap was left under my car, by the grace of God I saw it and escaped