Liam Byrne, MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill, this week met with Prime Minister Tony Blair to demand that the UK Government does everything possible to help the victims of the South Asian earthquake.

The news comes on the same day as International Development Secretary Hilary Benn announced aid that has so far been given to the stricken country.

As well as sending UK search and rescue experts from Fire Brigades up and down the country, the Government has so far provided:

1. Financial help to buy vital emergency supplies including emergency health and trauma kits to support 40,000 people for 3 months, 1,000 winter tents and 10,000 tarpaulins to Islamic Relief from our existing stocks in Lahore. The Government is also sending additional tents and blankets from stocks in Dubai, and is flying out 19,000 blankets from our Marchington store also for distribution by Islamic Relief.

2. The Government will underwrite the cost of transporting any relief supplies from the UK to Pakistan, as well as further financial support to humanitarian organisations.

3. All donations to charities involved in the relief effort in Pakistan can make use of gift aid to make your donation mean even more. In practice, this means that if you give £10 to charity using Gift Aid, that gift is worth £12.82 to the charity.

But the Government also realises that this disaster is as real to many people living in this country, as it is to those living in South Asia, and particularly Azad Kashmir. The Foreign Office have set up a dedicated helpline for concerned relatives to call for further information. The number is 020 7008 1500.

Liam has also set up a page on his website, www.liambyrne.co.uk so that constituents can keep up to date with the latest situation reports from Pakistan, and news on how the Birmingham community is pulling together to help.

Liam said

‘My heart goes out to all those people caught up in this disaster, both here and over in Azad Kashmir.’

‘I offer my help to anyone in the constituency affected by this disaster. I will do everything I can to ease the pain at this difficult time.’

Cllr Ansar Ali Khan said

‘The earthquake has totally devastated four Kashmiri communities. More than 50,000 people are dead. 70% of the houses of Azad Kashmir are on the ground. A whole generation of children have been lost to this earthquake’.

‘We must stand together with the Kashmiri nation, and the first priority is to provide shelter for nearly 3 million people who are now homeless’.

ENDS