BOARD MEETS OMAGH RELAITVES
Board meets Omagh relatives
By Mary Fitzgerald and Chris Thornton
RELATIVES of those who died in the Omagh bombing were today due to meet members of the Policing Board to discuss the ongoing row over the police investigation into the atrocity. The board's entry into the row was marked by evidence of a split between political elements on the body - making the role of the independent membership even more important.
DUP board member Ian Paisley Jnr said today that the board should "get off the back of the police".
But UUP and SDLP sources have indicated that their members feel the board needs to show its authority by resolving the row between Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan and Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan.
Families of the 29 people killed and survivors of the Real IRA attack on August 15, 1998, are expected to demand clarification on the powers of the Policing Board particularly in relation to the implementation of the Police Ombudsman's recommendations.
They will also ask that the Police Ombudsman's report into the police investigation and the Chief Constable's rebuttal be made public.
The full board, which also oversees the force, will meet Mrs O'Loan and Sir Ronnie in separate private talks on February 5.
The nationalist deputy head of the Policing Board has urged republicans who may have information about the Omagh bomb to come forward.
Vice-Chairman Denis Bradley said relatives of the victims "are not out for revenge".
He admitted that the new board was "walking a tightrope" in the wake of the row Michael Gallagher, who lost his son, Adrian, in the bombing, said the relatives felt a "quiet determination" about the meeting with the corporate affairs policy committee of the board this afternoon at the Silver Birch hotel in Omagh.
By Mary Fitzgerald and Chris Thornton
RELATIVES of those who died in the Omagh bombing were today due to meet members of the Policing Board to discuss the ongoing row over the police investigation into the atrocity. The board's entry into the row was marked by evidence of a split between political elements on the body - making the role of the independent membership even more important.
DUP board member Ian Paisley Jnr said today that the board should "get off the back of the police".
But UUP and SDLP sources have indicated that their members feel the board needs to show its authority by resolving the row between Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan and Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan.
Families of the 29 people killed and survivors of the Real IRA attack on August 15, 1998, are expected to demand clarification on the powers of the Policing Board particularly in relation to the implementation of the Police Ombudsman's recommendations.
They will also ask that the Police Ombudsman's report into the police investigation and the Chief Constable's rebuttal be made public.
The full board, which also oversees the force, will meet Mrs O'Loan and Sir Ronnie in separate private talks on February 5.
The nationalist deputy head of the Policing Board has urged republicans who may have information about the Omagh bomb to come forward.
Vice-Chairman Denis Bradley said relatives of the victims "are not out for revenge".
He admitted that the new board was "walking a tightrope" in the wake of the row Michael Gallagher, who lost his son, Adrian, in the bombing, said the relatives felt a "quiet determination" about the meeting with the corporate affairs policy committee of the board this afternoon at the Silver Birch hotel in Omagh.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0846
Published Date: 28-Jan-02
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