ULSTER Unionist MP Tom Elliott used his maiden speech in the House of Commons to call for justice for the families of those killed and injured in the Enniskillen bombing in 1987.

Mr. Elliott, who won the hotly contested Fermanagh-south Tyrone seat last month from Sinn Fein’s Michelle Gildernew after 14 years, told the House that he wanted to see progress on the past.

“I want to remind people that we in Fermanagh and South Tyrone have suffered some terrible atrocities. Three individual family members were murdered in three different incidents by the IRA. We had the Enniskillen bomb, which killed -- murdered --11 people. Those victims and their families have still not got justice, and I will want to remind the House on every occasion I can that they deserve justice, as do all the other families in Northern Ireland who deserve such justice.” Speaking during a debate on the EU referendum, Mr. Elliott said there needed to be “a new definition of a victim because the definition we have is not appropriate”.

“How can we equate the perpetrator of the serious crime of murder with the family of the person they murdered?” he asked. “That is not fair or right. We are debating the EU referendum, and at least the European definition of a victim is much better than that which we have in Northern Ireland, and I would like to see that implemented much further than it is.” Mr. Elliott paid tribute to all those in the constituency “who took on a great challenge to elect me”.

“The Fermanagh and South Tyrone voice has not been heard in this place for the last 14 years. I am grateful to the people who put their faith in me, and I know that they will want to be rewarded for that,” he said, before thanking his predecessor, Ms. Gildernew. “I also want to record my thanks for the contribution of the previous Member of Parliament. Although she did not sit in this place, she went out of her way to campaign on mental health issues,” he said.

The Ulster Unionist representative told the House about his farming background and said he made “no apology for standing up for rural communities”.

“My constituency also has a strong engineering base, which stretches from Severfield, a United Kingdom-based company with a branch in Ballinamallard, County Fermanagh, to Dungannon, where there are a number of light engineering companies.

“We also have a great tourist industry in Fermanagh. The lakes of Fermanagh are known far and wide, and I say to any Member who might not have visited Fermanagh to see the beauty of the lakes, shame on you, and I hope you’ll do that in the not too distant future.” Bringing his first remarks to the House to a close, Mr. Elliott said: “I thank everyone who voted for me, and I thank those who did not, because they will get exactly the same service from me in the constituency.”