OMAGH BOMB SUSPECT WANTS COMPENSATION
Omagh bomb suspect 'wants compensation'
By Alan Erwin
PA News
AN Omagh bomb suspect is seeking up to �15,000 in compensation after claiming he was left traumatised by police questioning.
Stunned relatives of the victims have protested to the British government, urging ministers to resist any payout.
Victor Barker, a lawyer whose 12-year-old son James was killed at Omagh, insisted it was wrong.
"It's pretty sickening that someone might get compensation of that level," he said.
The man, from south Armagh, was among dozens of republicans interviewed by detectives investigating the August 1998 Real IRA outrage which killed 29 people. At one stage during the interrogation harrowing photographs of the carnage were allegedly produced and shown to the man.
He claimed police offered him no counselling for any trauma brought on by exposure to the shocking images.
Police last night refused to comment on the ongoing legal action, which could be heard by a judge at the high court in Belfast.
The man who lodged the claim, a former prisoner, has not been charged in connection with Omagh.
But it is understood he is a former Provisional IRA member who later turned against the Sinn Fein leadership of Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness.
He aligned himself with hardline dissidents in south Armagh where some of the key suspects involved in Omagh lived.
Relatives whose children died in the attack were horrified to learn the suspect is seeking double what they have been paid in compensation.
"You bring up a child and spend years looking after him, educating him, clothing and feeding him and the compensation is nothing compared to the pain and suffering," Mr Barker said.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan died in the blast, said: "For the Omagh families this is absolutely disgusting.
"The government is prepared to give parents �7,000 and yet someone who looked at a photo can then walk away and claim �15,000."
Mr Gallagher said the action was even more sickening because the families received no payments for what they endured at the time.
"I had to go and look at what was left of someone I loved and yet the government decided I was not traumatised. The whole thing is a scandal," he said.
It is understood that the man was questioned by detectives months after the bombing.
His claim against the police was believed to be at an advanced stage before NIO security minister Jane Kennedy was alerted.
Families of the victims told her the British government could not allow the money to be paid out when she was in Omagh in August for the fifth anniversary of the attack.
A police spokeswoman said the service was unable to speak about the case.
By Alan Erwin
PA News
AN Omagh bomb suspect is seeking up to �15,000 in compensation after claiming he was left traumatised by police questioning.
Stunned relatives of the victims have protested to the British government, urging ministers to resist any payout.
Victor Barker, a lawyer whose 12-year-old son James was killed at Omagh, insisted it was wrong.
"It's pretty sickening that someone might get compensation of that level," he said.
The man, from south Armagh, was among dozens of republicans interviewed by detectives investigating the August 1998 Real IRA outrage which killed 29 people. At one stage during the interrogation harrowing photographs of the carnage were allegedly produced and shown to the man.
He claimed police offered him no counselling for any trauma brought on by exposure to the shocking images.
Police last night refused to comment on the ongoing legal action, which could be heard by a judge at the high court in Belfast.
The man who lodged the claim, a former prisoner, has not been charged in connection with Omagh.
But it is understood he is a former Provisional IRA member who later turned against the Sinn Fein leadership of Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness.
He aligned himself with hardline dissidents in south Armagh where some of the key suspects involved in Omagh lived.
Relatives whose children died in the attack were horrified to learn the suspect is seeking double what they have been paid in compensation.
"You bring up a child and spend years looking after him, educating him, clothing and feeding him and the compensation is nothing compared to the pain and suffering," Mr Barker said.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan died in the blast, said: "For the Omagh families this is absolutely disgusting.
"The government is prepared to give parents �7,000 and yet someone who looked at a photo can then walk away and claim �15,000."
Mr Gallagher said the action was even more sickening because the families received no payments for what they endured at the time.
"I had to go and look at what was left of someone I loved and yet the government decided I was not traumatised. The whole thing is a scandal," he said.
It is understood that the man was questioned by detectives months after the bombing.
His claim against the police was believed to be at an advanced stage before NIO security minister Jane Kennedy was alerted.
Families of the victims told her the British government could not allow the money to be paid out when she was in Omagh in August for the fifth anniversary of the attack.
A police spokeswoman said the service was unable to speak about the case.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0613
Published Date: 15-Oct-03
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