A former Brexit Party MEP who has refused to apologise for historical support of the IRA bombing in Warrington that killed two children has taken her seat in the House of Lords.
The appointment of Claire Fox to the unelected chamber has sparked controversy, with Labour branding it “an insult to the people of the North West” over the 1993 attack.
Baroness Fox of Buckley was included on a 36-strong peerage list that led to accusations of cronyism against the prime minister after he included his brother, Jo Johnson, and a number of Brexit backers.
Lady Fox, who most recently represented the Brexit Party in Brussels, was formerly a senior activist in the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP).
An RCP newsletter at the time of the attack, which killed schoolboys Tim Parry and Johnathan Ball, stated that the party defended “the right of the Irish people to take whatever measures necessary in their struggle for freedom”.
Though the 60-year-old has said she does not condone violence, she has not apologised for the position at the time.
Tim’s father Colin Parry said her peerage “offends me and many others deeply”.
Lady Fox, wearing the traditional scarlet robes, was supported by Labour peer Lord Glasman and non-affiliated peer Baroness Wolf of Dulwich as she swore the oath of allegiance to the Queen during the short ceremony.
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