OMAGH BOMB EXPERT CLASHES WITH DEFENCE
Omagh bomb expert clashes with defence
FORENSIC expert who claims he found "extremely strong" evidence, up to one in a billion to link Omagh bomb accused Sean Hoey to two other bombings through Low Copy Number DNA tests, has clashed with the defence over the accreditation and validation of those tests.
Dr Jonathan Paul Whitaker admitted that besides two other forensic laboratories in the UK, one in the Netherlands and in New Zealand. There are no other labs in the world using his technique.
Dr Whitaker further agreed with Orlando Pownall QC, defending, that in America the FBI does not use the technique for evidential purposes in court proceedings.
"We are not looking to the FBI as role models or America," he said.
However, the expert from the profit-making government-owned Forensic Science Service (FSS) in England, claimed the question had to be "kept within perspective".
He told the Belfast Crown Court trial of 37-year-old Hoey from Molly's Road, Jonesborough, who denies 58 terrorist offences, that even the more widely accepted SGMplus DNA test came under criticism when first developed.
In accepting that those questioning the Low Copy DNA technique were not "a small minority of sceptics", Dr Whitaker claimed that there will always be others who would be outspoken about new developments but that was something which should be encouraged.
It has been revealed that while the FSS claims to have been accredited by the British Standards Institute (BSI), in a letter to Hoey's solicitors the institute said they had not.
Dr Whitaker said that BSI had nothing to do with accrediting the Low Copy Number test procedures but with accrediting their labs.
He said that FSS had been validated by the UK Accreditation Service and this was more important.
He is to return to court today to clarify what accreditation the FSS has.
FORENSIC expert who claims he found "extremely strong" evidence, up to one in a billion to link Omagh bomb accused Sean Hoey to two other bombings through Low Copy Number DNA tests, has clashed with the defence over the accreditation and validation of those tests.
Dr Jonathan Paul Whitaker admitted that besides two other forensic laboratories in the UK, one in the Netherlands and in New Zealand. There are no other labs in the world using his technique.
Dr Whitaker further agreed with Orlando Pownall QC, defending, that in America the FBI does not use the technique for evidential purposes in court proceedings.
"We are not looking to the FBI as role models or America," he said.
However, the expert from the profit-making government-owned Forensic Science Service (FSS) in England, claimed the question had to be "kept within perspective".
He told the Belfast Crown Court trial of 37-year-old Hoey from Molly's Road, Jonesborough, who denies 58 terrorist offences, that even the more widely accepted SGMplus DNA test came under criticism when first developed.
In accepting that those questioning the Low Copy DNA technique were not "a small minority of sceptics", Dr Whitaker claimed that there will always be others who would be outspoken about new developments but that was something which should be encouraged.
It has been revealed that while the FSS claims to have been accredited by the British Standards Institute (BSI), in a letter to Hoey's solicitors the institute said they had not.
Dr Whitaker said that BSI had nothing to do with accrediting the Low Copy Number test procedures but with accrediting their labs.
He said that FSS had been validated by the UK Accreditation Service and this was more important.
He is to return to court today to clarify what accreditation the FSS has.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0813
Published Date: 09-Nov-06
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