SECURITY SERVICES KNEW NOTHING OF OMAGH ATTACK
Security services 'knew nothing' of Omagh attack
BY SAM LISTER
PARLIAMENTARY CORRESPONDENT
newseditor@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
THE security services did not have information that could have prevented the Omagh bomb, an independent review ruled today.
Sir Peter Gibson, who was commissioned by the Prime Minister to investigate claims that security lapses could have played a role in the atrocity, found there was nothing to suggest the town was going to be the target of a bomb attack.
There is also no evidence that GCHQ failed to pass on intercepted intelligence to RUC CID to help the inquiry, the Intelligence Services Commissioner also insisted.
The report follows a BBC Panorama programme last year that made a series of allegations about the failure of British security services including claims Real IRA phone conversations were monitored as the bombers drove into the town.
Its conclusions were released today, although the full report has been stamped classified by the Government.
Bereaved Omagh families will however be requesting a copy of the full report, a meeting with Sir Peter Gibson and the other report contributors.
Gordon Brown and Shaun Woodward, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, are now expected to meet the families of the victims on February 11 to discuss the findings of the report.
In a written statement to the Commons, Mr Woodward said: "Sir Peter concludes he is satisfied that in the days surrounding August 15, and on the day itself, to the extent that any relevant intelligence derived from interception as might have existed would not have prevented the bombing."
The bombing killed 29 people, plus unborn twins, and no one has ever been jailed for it.
Today's report states that GCHQ handed over all relevant material to the Special Branch officers and ruled that allegations that the cars involved in the bombing could have been tracked and their journey monitored on a screen.
Mr Woodward added: "Sir Peter is also satisfied that in 1998, on the basis of evidence from an independent expert witness from a mobile communications provider, it was neither possible to track mobile phones in real time, nor visualise the location and movement of mobile phones in the way shown in the Panorama programme.
"Assertions in the programme that live monitoring on the day would have shown what was going to happen are incorrect and unsupported by any evidence.
"It was also implied in the Panorama programme that GCHQ did not pass on intercepted intelligence to RUC CID to help the enquiry. This is not supported by the facts."
This morning Michael Gallagher, chairman of the Omagh Self Help and Support Group who lost his 21-year-old son Aiden in the bombing had not fully digested the report's findings. However, he said the families would be demanding more answers.
He said: "We will of course be requesting the full report. We will be also requesting a meeting with Sir Peter Gibson and the other contributors to discuss the contents."
BY SAM LISTER
PARLIAMENTARY CORRESPONDENT
newseditor@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
THE security services did not have information that could have prevented the Omagh bomb, an independent review ruled today.
Sir Peter Gibson, who was commissioned by the Prime Minister to investigate claims that security lapses could have played a role in the atrocity, found there was nothing to suggest the town was going to be the target of a bomb attack.
There is also no evidence that GCHQ failed to pass on intercepted intelligence to RUC CID to help the inquiry, the Intelligence Services Commissioner also insisted.
The report follows a BBC Panorama programme last year that made a series of allegations about the failure of British security services including claims Real IRA phone conversations were monitored as the bombers drove into the town.
Its conclusions were released today, although the full report has been stamped classified by the Government.
Bereaved Omagh families will however be requesting a copy of the full report, a meeting with Sir Peter Gibson and the other report contributors.
Gordon Brown and Shaun Woodward, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, are now expected to meet the families of the victims on February 11 to discuss the findings of the report.
In a written statement to the Commons, Mr Woodward said: "Sir Peter concludes he is satisfied that in the days surrounding August 15, and on the day itself, to the extent that any relevant intelligence derived from interception as might have existed would not have prevented the bombing."
The bombing killed 29 people, plus unborn twins, and no one has ever been jailed for it.
Today's report states that GCHQ handed over all relevant material to the Special Branch officers and ruled that allegations that the cars involved in the bombing could have been tracked and their journey monitored on a screen.
Mr Woodward added: "Sir Peter is also satisfied that in 1998, on the basis of evidence from an independent expert witness from a mobile communications provider, it was neither possible to track mobile phones in real time, nor visualise the location and movement of mobile phones in the way shown in the Panorama programme.
"Assertions in the programme that live monitoring on the day would have shown what was going to happen are incorrect and unsupported by any evidence.
"It was also implied in the Panorama programme that GCHQ did not pass on intercepted intelligence to RUC CID to help the enquiry. This is not supported by the facts."
This morning Michael Gallagher, chairman of the Omagh Self Help and Support Group who lost his 21-year-old son Aiden in the bombing had not fully digested the report's findings. However, he said the families would be demanding more answers.
He said: "We will of course be requesting the full report. We will be also requesting a meeting with Sir Peter Gibson and the other contributors to discuss the contents."
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/1130
Published Date: 21-Jan-09
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