FLANAGAN DISDMISSES INFORMER'S CREDIBILITY
Flanagan dismisses informer's credibility
By David Gordon
CHIEF Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan today seeks to comprehensively undermine the credibility of the police informer code-named Kevin Fulton - the man whose claims led to the Ombudsman's Omagh probe.
Fulton says he tipped off his RUC handlers in the run-up to the atrocity about the terror plans of a leading republican dissident.
His allegation that his warnings could have prevented the August 1998 atrocity surfaced in the media, and prompted Nuala O'Loan to look into police actions before and after the blast.
But Sir Ronnie today argues strongly that the information Fulton gave was not related to Omagh, or to anyone suspected' of involvement in the blast. Fulton was a Special Branch informer between 1992 and 1994, but was dropped due to police doubts about his reliability.
He became a CID informer in 1996, providing information largely related to criminal activities, as well as some details of terrorist activities.
The chief constable's report today deals in detail with Fulton and outlines the problems police had in working with him.
While strongly rejecting the weight attached to his claims by the Ombudsman, Sir Ronnie does accept that mistakes were made in the way the information he provided was handled. The chief constable also spells out steps taken to rectify this problem.
By David Gordon
CHIEF Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan today seeks to comprehensively undermine the credibility of the police informer code-named Kevin Fulton - the man whose claims led to the Ombudsman's Omagh probe.
Fulton says he tipped off his RUC handlers in the run-up to the atrocity about the terror plans of a leading republican dissident.
His allegation that his warnings could have prevented the August 1998 atrocity surfaced in the media, and prompted Nuala O'Loan to look into police actions before and after the blast.
But Sir Ronnie today argues strongly that the information Fulton gave was not related to Omagh, or to anyone suspected' of involvement in the blast. Fulton was a Special Branch informer between 1992 and 1994, but was dropped due to police doubts about his reliability.
He became a CID informer in 1996, providing information largely related to criminal activities, as well as some details of terrorist activities.
The chief constable's report today deals in detail with Fulton and outlines the problems police had in working with him.
While strongly rejecting the weight attached to his claims by the Ombudsman, Sir Ronnie does accept that mistakes were made in the way the information he provided was handled. The chief constable also spells out steps taken to rectify this problem.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0828
Published Date: 24-Jan-02
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