INTELLIGENCE REVIEW WILL BE TOO LATE OMAGH FAMILIES TELL BROWN
Intelligence review will be too late, Omagh families tell Brown
RELATIVES of Omagh bombing victims have said a three-month review of the use of intelligence announced by Gordon Brown will be too late for them.
They responded to the British prime minister's intervention in controversy over the monitoring of bomb suspects' phone conversations by sending a letter to Downing Street urging immediate action.
Lawyers for the families taking a multi-million-pound lawsuit at the High Court in Belfast confirmed that legal moves would be launched to get the material being sought unless an urgent remedy was found.
"Whilst the families are pursuing their letter and requests with the prime minister to obtain the relevant material through a variety of positive ways, we are instructed to be prepared to go to court to make this application to get this information," solicitor Jason McCue said.
The methods being considered include seeking subpoenas and discovery applications against the Government Communications Headquarters intelligence services.
Mr Brown announced a review of intelligence material on the Omagh bombing and how it had been shared following revelations by the BBC's Panorama programme.
It disclosed that GCHQ had been monitoring Real IRA phone conversations at the time the 5001b bomb was being transported into the Co Tyrone town in August 1998.
Sir Peter Gibson, the intelligence services commissioner, will head up the review, which is expected to take three months to complete.
But even though the Omagh families were heartened by Mr Brown's swift action following on from the documentary, they said any outcome would not be soon enough for their landmark attempt to sue five men they hold responsible for the atrocity.
As the civil trial became bogged down in the examination of telephone evidence, correspondence was sent to Mr Brown making clear that the families had given GCHQ until the end of the week to produce the material or face legal proceedings.
The letter said: "Bearing in mind that this whole tragedy seems to have been the victim of the fog of intelligence... and bearing in mind that our lawyers wrote to GCHQ in 2001 requesting the material and have never received a response, we request that you intervene on our behalf and demonstrate to what many view as an unaccountable elite that they need to find a way to serve us - ordinary citizens who have lost loved ones in the front line of the war on terror."
Signed by Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden died in the bombing, the letter added: "We contend and invite you to share our view that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute any government servant (whether from the police or intelligence) that chooses to assist the families' civil action by giving relevant evidence (about material that falls under the current prohibitive legislation) in court."
The letter says it would be "inhuman" for the authorities not to help the families fight for justice and says the only legal obstacle appears to be legislation forbidding the production of intercept material in legal proceedings.
The letter tells Mr Brown: "This, along with you, we find ridiculous, archaic and unnecessary."
RELATIVES of Omagh bombing victims have said a three-month review of the use of intelligence announced by Gordon Brown will be too late for them.
They responded to the British prime minister's intervention in controversy over the monitoring of bomb suspects' phone conversations by sending a letter to Downing Street urging immediate action.
Lawyers for the families taking a multi-million-pound lawsuit at the High Court in Belfast confirmed that legal moves would be launched to get the material being sought unless an urgent remedy was found.
"Whilst the families are pursuing their letter and requests with the prime minister to obtain the relevant material through a variety of positive ways, we are instructed to be prepared to go to court to make this application to get this information," solicitor Jason McCue said.
The methods being considered include seeking subpoenas and discovery applications against the Government Communications Headquarters intelligence services.
Mr Brown announced a review of intelligence material on the Omagh bombing and how it had been shared following revelations by the BBC's Panorama programme.
It disclosed that GCHQ had been monitoring Real IRA phone conversations at the time the 5001b bomb was being transported into the Co Tyrone town in August 1998.
Sir Peter Gibson, the intelligence services commissioner, will head up the review, which is expected to take three months to complete.
But even though the Omagh families were heartened by Mr Brown's swift action following on from the documentary, they said any outcome would not be soon enough for their landmark attempt to sue five men they hold responsible for the atrocity.
As the civil trial became bogged down in the examination of telephone evidence, correspondence was sent to Mr Brown making clear that the families had given GCHQ until the end of the week to produce the material or face legal proceedings.
The letter said: "Bearing in mind that this whole tragedy seems to have been the victim of the fog of intelligence... and bearing in mind that our lawyers wrote to GCHQ in 2001 requesting the material and have never received a response, we request that you intervene on our behalf and demonstrate to what many view as an unaccountable elite that they need to find a way to serve us - ordinary citizens who have lost loved ones in the front line of the war on terror."
Signed by Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden died in the bombing, the letter added: "We contend and invite you to share our view that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute any government servant (whether from the police or intelligence) that chooses to assist the families' civil action by giving relevant evidence (about material that falls under the current prohibitive legislation) in court."
The letter says it would be "inhuman" for the authorities not to help the families fight for justice and says the only legal obstacle appears to be legislation forbidding the production of intercept material in legal proceedings.
The letter tells Mr Brown: "This, along with you, we find ridiculous, archaic and unnecessary."
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0962
Published Date: 18-Sep-08
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