THE Foreign Office has agreed to meet families of two North-East men killed on board Malaysian Airlines flight MH17.

On the eve of the first anniversary of the tragedy, Foreign Office Minister David Lidington has agreed to a face-to-face meeting with relatives of those died.

Newcastle United fans Liam Sweeney and John Alder were among 298 people killed when the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur came down over war-torn Ukraine in July 2014.

The pair, who were on their way to New Zealand to watch their team in a pre-season tour, were among 10 UK citizens to die on board the doomed plane.

An international investigation led by the Dutch is expected to publish its report into the incident later this year, but both sides in the Ukrainian civil war accept that the Boeing 777 was shot down.

As Friday’s anniversary of the disaster approaches, Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah raised the issue in Parliament, saying relatives feared the Government’s attention had moved away from the Ukrainian crisis and the families were still seeking answers about the murder of their loved ones.

In the House of Commons, the MP asked for a meeting between the families and the Foreign Office and Minister David Lidington agreed to talks.

He said: “First can I say I’m more than happy to meet you and your constituents, whom I recall meeting in the aftermath of that appalling tragedy last year.

“As you know, there is a Dutch investigation going on into the causes of the crash and to the possible attribution of responsibility for that and clearly you wouldn’t expect me to be able to comment in detail about that, but I’m happy to talk to you.”

Speaking ahead of the scheduled meeting, Ms Onwurah said: “ Whilst there is a complex international investigation I hope the Minister will be able to reassure the families of Liam and John that the UK government is in close contact with the investigation, and will pass on any information relating to their tragic deaths.

“I want to ensure the passage of time has not dulled the government’s resolve to get to the bottom of what happened that day to Flight MH17 and to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.”

During a commemoration held on Saturday at Kuala Lumpur Airport to mark the forthcoming anniversary, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the Dutch-led investigation into the incident is "really close to naming those guilty."