GOVERNMENT THREATENED WITH COURT ACTION OVER OMAGH FILES
Government threatened with court action over Omagh files
By Claire Simpson
LEGAL action could be taken against the British government unless it hands over intelligence information on the Omagh bombers within a week, victims' relatives have said.
An investigation by the BBC's Panorama programme revealed that staff at Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in England recorded phone conversations between the Real IRA men as they drove the bomb into Omagh in August 1998.
The bombing was the single worst paramilitary atrocity of the Troubles, killing 29 people including a woman pregnant with twins.
Michael Gallagher, chairman of the Omagh Support and Self Help Group, said the programme's revelations were "earth-shattering" for the families. He described them as the most significant development in the case since 2001 when the then police ombudsman, Dame Nuala O'Loan, published a scathing report on the original police investigation.
Mr Gallagher, whose son Aiden was murdered in the bombing, was joined by up to a dozen other relatives at a press conference in Belfast yesterday.
He said the group wanted the government to hand over the intelligence information voluntarily but warned that if it was not forthcoming they would take legal action.
Mr Gallagher suggested that possible criminal proceedings could involve people being charged with perverting the course of justice or withholding information.
Jason McCue, a lawyer for the families, said he had asked GCHQ seven years ago for any information it held on the bombing but that his letter had gone unanswered.
Up to 12 people are taking a civil case for �10 million in compensation against Michael McKevitt, Seamus Daly, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus McKenna.
Intercepts of phone conversations cannot be used as evidence in criminal trials but they can be used in civil cases.
Mr Gallagher said the families hoped the civil case would encourage the intelligence service to come forward with the information.
"We implore those in the intelligence community to search their souls and do the right thing," he said.
"Please come forward and provide a way for the material evidence to be given in the civil court."
Mr Gallagher said the group had written to Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde and would write to the Irish and Spanish governments about issues raised by the programme. Two Spanish people died in the blast.
"Someone has made the decision to withhold this information," he said.
"Someone in the intelligence community, possibly someone within GCHQ."
Mr Gallagher said that if the British government withheld the information, a full public inquiry into the bombing must be held.
"In the interest of justice and morality it is time to come clean," he said.
"It goes without saying that if this evidence is not made public through the civil action then such a refusal will in itself create irresistible pressure for a public inquiry."
Bertha McDougall, chairwoman of the Commission for Victims and Survivors, said it would meet families, the secretary of state and the Republic's justice minister before deciding whether to back calls for an inquiry.
However, she said intelligence gathering by the security services before and after the bombing must be investigated in light of the programme's revelations.
By Claire Simpson
LEGAL action could be taken against the British government unless it hands over intelligence information on the Omagh bombers within a week, victims' relatives have said.
An investigation by the BBC's Panorama programme revealed that staff at Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in England recorded phone conversations between the Real IRA men as they drove the bomb into Omagh in August 1998.
The bombing was the single worst paramilitary atrocity of the Troubles, killing 29 people including a woman pregnant with twins.
Michael Gallagher, chairman of the Omagh Support and Self Help Group, said the programme's revelations were "earth-shattering" for the families. He described them as the most significant development in the case since 2001 when the then police ombudsman, Dame Nuala O'Loan, published a scathing report on the original police investigation.
Mr Gallagher, whose son Aiden was murdered in the bombing, was joined by up to a dozen other relatives at a press conference in Belfast yesterday.
He said the group wanted the government to hand over the intelligence information voluntarily but warned that if it was not forthcoming they would take legal action.
Mr Gallagher suggested that possible criminal proceedings could involve people being charged with perverting the course of justice or withholding information.
Jason McCue, a lawyer for the families, said he had asked GCHQ seven years ago for any information it held on the bombing but that his letter had gone unanswered.
Up to 12 people are taking a civil case for �10 million in compensation against Michael McKevitt, Seamus Daly, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus McKenna.
Intercepts of phone conversations cannot be used as evidence in criminal trials but they can be used in civil cases.
Mr Gallagher said the families hoped the civil case would encourage the intelligence service to come forward with the information.
"We implore those in the intelligence community to search their souls and do the right thing," he said.
"Please come forward and provide a way for the material evidence to be given in the civil court."
Mr Gallagher said the group had written to Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde and would write to the Irish and Spanish governments about issues raised by the programme. Two Spanish people died in the blast.
"Someone has made the decision to withhold this information," he said.
"Someone in the intelligence community, possibly someone within GCHQ."
Mr Gallagher said that if the British government withheld the information, a full public inquiry into the bombing must be held.
"In the interest of justice and morality it is time to come clean," he said.
"It goes without saying that if this evidence is not made public through the civil action then such a refusal will in itself create irresistible pressure for a public inquiry."
Bertha McDougall, chairwoman of the Commission for Victims and Survivors, said it would meet families, the secretary of state and the Republic's justice minister before deciding whether to back calls for an inquiry.
However, she said intelligence gathering by the security services before and after the bombing must be investigated in light of the programme's revelations.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0960
Published Date: 17-Sep-08
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