CHIEF CONSTABLE HITS BACK AT OMAGH REPORT
CHIEF CONSTABLE HITS BACK AT OMAGH REPORT
O'LOAN GOT IT WRONG: FLANAGAN
By David Gordon
CHIEF Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan today told families of the Omagh bomb victims that Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan got it wrong when she castigated the actions of officers before and after the atrocity. Sir Ronnie also rejected Mrs O'Loan's recommendation that a detective from outside Northern Ireland should take over the Omagh investigation. A senior officer from Mersey-side has instead been appointed as an adviser to the PSNI officer in charge of the inquiry. In a full reply to Mrs O'Loan, the Chief Constable said the ombudsman's report has "inflicted unnecessary grief and anxiety on the relatives of those murdered at Omagh and those injured". He details a series of alleged factual errors, omissions, and mistaken assumptions in the O'Loan document. Sir Ronnie also launches a sustained attack on the credibility of the police informer codenamed Kevin Fulton, whose claims led to the ombudsman launching her probe.
The PSNI chief met the Omagh families in private this morning to give a detailed response to the O'Loan report, which accused him of a serious failure of leadership in relation to the bomb blast investigation. The ombudsman also slammed the police handling of terror threat warnings received in the run-up to the August 1998 Real IRA attack which claimed 29 lives.
Speaking before going into today's meeting with the families of the victims of the Omagh bombing, Sir Ronnie, vowed that he would answer any question put to him by them. "There has been a lot of distorted material in circulation recently but I am here today to see the people who really matter," he said. Sir Ronnie was accompanied at today's meeting by a high-powered panel including senior officers and other leading figures from the security field. The panel included two senior Garda officers - Assistant Commissioner Kevin Carty and Detective Superintendent Tadhg Foley. At the meeting in Omagh's Silverbirch Hotel, which was chaired by Victims' Commissioner Sir Kenneth Bloomfield, Sir Ronnie said that the PSNI's commitment to bringing those responsible for the bombing to justice remained "undiminished."
Issues addressed in his report include:
>Warning received in advance of the Omagh blast from an informer codenamed Kevin Fulton about the movements of a known republican dissident.
Sir Ronnie states that the Fulton warning could not have prevented the Omagh attack.
He also reveals that police believed Fulton was actually involved in seeking to purchase weapons in the summer of 1998 "apparently to re-ingratiate himself with paramilitaries".
>Telephone warning received on August 4 1998 that a republican attack was planned in Omagh on August 15, the day of the atrocity. Sir Ronnie's report outlines the detailed steps made by Special Branch to assess the information supplied in this call.
He also reiterates his firm view that the August 4 telephone warning did not relate to the blast which occurred in the town 11 days later.
The caller claimed the Continuity IRA would be launching a rocket and gun attack on police in Omagh on August 4. Sir Ronnie defends the Special Branch decision not to issue a general threat warning on this matter.
And he points out that had such a warning been issued, the effect would have been a reduction in police checkpoints around Omagh on August 15, to reduce the targets for terrorists.
"The implication - that the issue of a threat warning might have led to steps which could have prevented the bombing - is not only incorrect and misleading, it is enormously distressing to all those caught up in the atrocity," he said.
>Special Branch procedures for sharing information. This was a key issue in the ombudsman's report. Mrs O'Loan criticised Special Branch for not passing on intelligence information to the police team investigating the bombing.
Sir Ronnie rejects these allegations.
Failure of leadership allegation. The ombudsman's most scathing remarks were directed at the Chief Constable and Assistant Chief Constable of the crime division.
In an emotional outburst last month, Sir Ronnie said he would publicly commit suicide if he believed these criticisms were justified. He later apologised for the remark. Dissident republican Colm Murphy - the only man convicted in connection with the bombing - is due to be sentenced tomorrow for conspiracy to cause an explosion.
O'LOAN GOT IT WRONG: FLANAGAN
By David Gordon
CHIEF Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan today told families of the Omagh bomb victims that Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan got it wrong when she castigated the actions of officers before and after the atrocity. Sir Ronnie also rejected Mrs O'Loan's recommendation that a detective from outside Northern Ireland should take over the Omagh investigation. A senior officer from Mersey-side has instead been appointed as an adviser to the PSNI officer in charge of the inquiry. In a full reply to Mrs O'Loan, the Chief Constable said the ombudsman's report has "inflicted unnecessary grief and anxiety on the relatives of those murdered at Omagh and those injured". He details a series of alleged factual errors, omissions, and mistaken assumptions in the O'Loan document. Sir Ronnie also launches a sustained attack on the credibility of the police informer codenamed Kevin Fulton, whose claims led to the ombudsman launching her probe.
The PSNI chief met the Omagh families in private this morning to give a detailed response to the O'Loan report, which accused him of a serious failure of leadership in relation to the bomb blast investigation. The ombudsman also slammed the police handling of terror threat warnings received in the run-up to the August 1998 Real IRA attack which claimed 29 lives.
Speaking before going into today's meeting with the families of the victims of the Omagh bombing, Sir Ronnie, vowed that he would answer any question put to him by them. "There has been a lot of distorted material in circulation recently but I am here today to see the people who really matter," he said. Sir Ronnie was accompanied at today's meeting by a high-powered panel including senior officers and other leading figures from the security field. The panel included two senior Garda officers - Assistant Commissioner Kevin Carty and Detective Superintendent Tadhg Foley. At the meeting in Omagh's Silverbirch Hotel, which was chaired by Victims' Commissioner Sir Kenneth Bloomfield, Sir Ronnie said that the PSNI's commitment to bringing those responsible for the bombing to justice remained "undiminished."
Issues addressed in his report include:
>Warning received in advance of the Omagh blast from an informer codenamed Kevin Fulton about the movements of a known republican dissident.
Sir Ronnie states that the Fulton warning could not have prevented the Omagh attack.
He also reveals that police believed Fulton was actually involved in seeking to purchase weapons in the summer of 1998 "apparently to re-ingratiate himself with paramilitaries".
>Telephone warning received on August 4 1998 that a republican attack was planned in Omagh on August 15, the day of the atrocity. Sir Ronnie's report outlines the detailed steps made by Special Branch to assess the information supplied in this call.
He also reiterates his firm view that the August 4 telephone warning did not relate to the blast which occurred in the town 11 days later.
The caller claimed the Continuity IRA would be launching a rocket and gun attack on police in Omagh on August 4. Sir Ronnie defends the Special Branch decision not to issue a general threat warning on this matter.
And he points out that had such a warning been issued, the effect would have been a reduction in police checkpoints around Omagh on August 15, to reduce the targets for terrorists.
"The implication - that the issue of a threat warning might have led to steps which could have prevented the bombing - is not only incorrect and misleading, it is enormously distressing to all those caught up in the atrocity," he said.
>Special Branch procedures for sharing information. This was a key issue in the ombudsman's report. Mrs O'Loan criticised Special Branch for not passing on intelligence information to the police team investigating the bombing.
Sir Ronnie rejects these allegations.
Failure of leadership allegation. The ombudsman's most scathing remarks were directed at the Chief Constable and Assistant Chief Constable of the crime division.
In an emotional outburst last month, Sir Ronnie said he would publicly commit suicide if he believed these criticisms were justified. He later apologised for the remark. Dissident republican Colm Murphy - the only man convicted in connection with the bombing - is due to be sentenced tomorrow for conspiracy to cause an explosion.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0824
Published Date: 24-Jan-02
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