O'LOAN: SPECIAL BRANCH AWARE OF OMAGH MATERIAL
O'Loan: Special Branch aware of Omagh material
BY MICHAEL McHUGH
newseditor@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
SPECIAL Branch was aware of intelligence information on the Omagh bomb soon after the atrocity, the former Ombudsman has claimed.
But information was not immediately passed on to investigating officers who spent months combing mobile phone records in the hunt for the Real IRA bombers, ex-Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan added.
The perpetrators are believed to have used phones to communicate on their way to Omagh with the device.
Dame Nuala gave evidence to a committee of MPs at Westminster yesterday.
"I am satisfied that material was passed to Special Branch," she said.
She talked about the reaction of secret service monitors.
"It triggered, and I am speculating, that the security services would be alarmed and distressed by the explosion and would immediately decide to search to see if they had anything which would be relevant, anything that had come in the past hour or so."
A total of 29 people and two unborn babies died in the August 1998 explosion in the Co Tyrone town.
It was the worst single atrocity during the Troubles and Ms O'Loan, who left the Ombudsman role in 2007, drew up a report which criticised the RUC investigation into the Real IRA bomb attack.
She told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee opportunities could have been availed of.
"My understanding is that there's information to suggest that the bombers themselves were taken aback at what happened, that they didn't intend to kill all those people," she said.
"If you were then able to arrest them and bring them in it is possible you might have a much more coherent and complete conversation. It also would enable you to go to their homes and search the homes."
A PSNI spokesman said: "The police co-operated as fully as possible with the civil case mindful of the fact that the criminal investigation has not been closed."
BY MICHAEL McHUGH
newseditor@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
SPECIAL Branch was aware of intelligence information on the Omagh bomb soon after the atrocity, the former Ombudsman has claimed.
But information was not immediately passed on to investigating officers who spent months combing mobile phone records in the hunt for the Real IRA bombers, ex-Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan added.
The perpetrators are believed to have used phones to communicate on their way to Omagh with the device.
Dame Nuala gave evidence to a committee of MPs at Westminster yesterday.
"I am satisfied that material was passed to Special Branch," she said.
She talked about the reaction of secret service monitors.
"It triggered, and I am speculating, that the security services would be alarmed and distressed by the explosion and would immediately decide to search to see if they had anything which would be relevant, anything that had come in the past hour or so."
A total of 29 people and two unborn babies died in the August 1998 explosion in the Co Tyrone town.
It was the worst single atrocity during the Troubles and Ms O'Loan, who left the Ombudsman role in 2007, drew up a report which criticised the RUC investigation into the Real IRA bomb attack.
She told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee opportunities could have been availed of.
"My understanding is that there's information to suggest that the bombers themselves were taken aback at what happened, that they didn't intend to kill all those people," she said.
"If you were then able to arrest them and bring them in it is possible you might have a much more coherent and complete conversation. It also would enable you to go to their homes and search the homes."
A PSNI spokesman said: "The police co-operated as fully as possible with the civil case mindful of the fact that the criminal investigation has not been closed."
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/1163
Published Date: 09-Jul-09
Related Images
