INQUIRY INTO MISSING BOMB PARTS ONLY BEGAN 'WEEKS AGO'
Inquiry into missing bomb parts only began 'weeks ago'
AN INVESTIGATION into bomb parts which went missing from the forensic laboratory eight years ago only started "a couple of weeks ago", the Omagh bomb trial heard yesterday.
Under cross-examination for the second day at the Belfast Crown Court trial of Sean Hoey, the acting operations director of the Forensic Science Agency Northern Ireland Jim Speers conceded it was an unacceptable situation.
Asked directly how he knew an investigation had been started, the top scientist first asked if he could consult with prosecuting lawyers and after being told to "think carefully", revealed that he had spoken to Dr Ruth Griffin when the issue of the missing parts was raised in the trial. However, he refuted a suggestion from defence lawyer Kieran Vaughan that it was "but another illustration of the problems that the lab has experienced over the years".
Mr Speers said that although it may appear "to the lay person" there was a general trend, "in reality a lot of our cases are reviewed on numerous occasions... and errors are extremely rare".
He added that in an average year 90,000 exhibits were sent to the laboratory but that only one case ever came to court "in relation to the mismatching of the evidence".
Hoey (37), an electrician from the Molly Road in Jonesborough, south Armagh, denies a total of 58 terrorist related charges including the 1998 Omagh bomb and the murders of the 29 people killed in it.
On Monday the trial heard that after the suspension of the PSNI's accreditation in 2003, it asked consultancy firm Helm to conduct a review of their case work with the firm uncovering some 455 errors in 1,200 cases.
Yesterday it was further revealed that at the time of the review Helm was unable to find a number of files and exhibits which were supposed to be held at the lab and also that they uncovered "45 significant non-conformities" in work carried out in 2002.
Although Mr Speers agreed that such mistakes "could have disastrous consequences", he claimed they were "extremely rare" and when found were "robustly corrected".
"What they [Helm] consider to be significant differences has been reviewed by the FSNI and we concluded, and Helm would agree, that none posed a problem for an unsafe conviction," the scientist said.
Later the court heard that Hoey believes he is the victim of "a witch hunt" by the authorities.
Hoey made the claim during one of the dozens of interviews he had with police between September 1998, when first questioned and September 2003 when finally charged with the Omagh bombing.
"I believe they are on a witch hunt to cover up their own adequacies," he said.
AN INVESTIGATION into bomb parts which went missing from the forensic laboratory eight years ago only started "a couple of weeks ago", the Omagh bomb trial heard yesterday.
Under cross-examination for the second day at the Belfast Crown Court trial of Sean Hoey, the acting operations director of the Forensic Science Agency Northern Ireland Jim Speers conceded it was an unacceptable situation.
Asked directly how he knew an investigation had been started, the top scientist first asked if he could consult with prosecuting lawyers and after being told to "think carefully", revealed that he had spoken to Dr Ruth Griffin when the issue of the missing parts was raised in the trial. However, he refuted a suggestion from defence lawyer Kieran Vaughan that it was "but another illustration of the problems that the lab has experienced over the years".
Mr Speers said that although it may appear "to the lay person" there was a general trend, "in reality a lot of our cases are reviewed on numerous occasions... and errors are extremely rare".
He added that in an average year 90,000 exhibits were sent to the laboratory but that only one case ever came to court "in relation to the mismatching of the evidence".
Hoey (37), an electrician from the Molly Road in Jonesborough, south Armagh, denies a total of 58 terrorist related charges including the 1998 Omagh bomb and the murders of the 29 people killed in it.
On Monday the trial heard that after the suspension of the PSNI's accreditation in 2003, it asked consultancy firm Helm to conduct a review of their case work with the firm uncovering some 455 errors in 1,200 cases.
Yesterday it was further revealed that at the time of the review Helm was unable to find a number of files and exhibits which were supposed to be held at the lab and also that they uncovered "45 significant non-conformities" in work carried out in 2002.
Although Mr Speers agreed that such mistakes "could have disastrous consequences", he claimed they were "extremely rare" and when found were "robustly corrected".
"What they [Helm] consider to be significant differences has been reviewed by the FSNI and we concluded, and Helm would agree, that none posed a problem for an unsafe conviction," the scientist said.
Later the court heard that Hoey believes he is the victim of "a witch hunt" by the authorities.
Hoey made the claim during one of the dozens of interviews he had with police between September 1998, when first questioned and September 2003 when finally charged with the Omagh bombing.
"I believe they are on a witch hunt to cover up their own adequacies," he said.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0822
Published Date: 13-Dec-06
Related Images
There have been no images archived for this article.