OMAGH OFFICERS WON'T FACE TRIAL
Omagh officers won't face trial
By Barry McCaffrey
TWO PSNI officers will not be prosecuted despite being accused of a "deliberate and calculated deception" by the Omagh bombing trial judge.
In December 2007 Mr Justice Weir ordered an investigation after highlighting serious inconsistencies in the evidence of Detective Inspector Philip Marshall and Constable Fiona Cooper to the trial of south Armagh man Sean Hoey.
The officers had claimed in statements to have been wearing protective clothing at the scene of a Real IRA bomb at Altmore forest in Co Tyrone in April 2001.
However, a photograph at the trial showed the two officers had not been wearing protective clothing.
Under cross-examination both officers admitted that they may have "beefed up"' their statements.
In what he described as a "most disturbing situation", Mr Justice Weir said: "The explanation as to how their untruths came to be told and the deliberate attempts, as I am satisfied they were, to conceal what the defence not unfairly characterised as the beefing up of the initial statement of Ms Cooper, are deeply disquieting."
The judge raised further concerns that "others concerned in the investigation and preparation of this case for trial beyond these two witnesses may also have played a part".
However, it emerged yesterday that neither officer is to be prosecuted.
In a statement, Police Ombudsman AI Hutchinson said Mr Justice Weir's criticism of the officers had been based on the photograph indicating their failure to wear forensic clothing at the bomb scene.
He said his investigators had now established that the photograph had been taken after all forensic tests had been completed.
Ruling that the officers had not in fact lied, the ombudsman said: "The information the officers gave to the court about the forensic precautions taken at the scene of the mortar bomb was accurate, although confused."
Mr Hutchinson also said he found no evidence that the officers had "beefed up" their statements, although details about when and how their statements were made had been inaccurate.
"If by the term 'beefing up' it is meant to suggest that police officers added untrue information to their statements, then we have found no evidence that police statements were 'beefed up'," he said.
However, he said "the two police officers were confused in the evidence they gave to the court".
The ombudsman also described the Omagh bombing investigation's failure to disclose parts of the 'officers' statements to the trial as an "administrative oversight".
He confirmed that the police investigation had lost documents and officers had not met the accepted practice for updating statements.
Solicitors for Mr Hoey, who was acquitted of a range of charges including the Omagh bombing murders, last night described the ombudsman's report as "deeply flawed" and said they were considering legal action to challenge it.
By Barry McCaffrey
TWO PSNI officers will not be prosecuted despite being accused of a "deliberate and calculated deception" by the Omagh bombing trial judge.
In December 2007 Mr Justice Weir ordered an investigation after highlighting serious inconsistencies in the evidence of Detective Inspector Philip Marshall and Constable Fiona Cooper to the trial of south Armagh man Sean Hoey.
The officers had claimed in statements to have been wearing protective clothing at the scene of a Real IRA bomb at Altmore forest in Co Tyrone in April 2001.
However, a photograph at the trial showed the two officers had not been wearing protective clothing.
Under cross-examination both officers admitted that they may have "beefed up"' their statements.
In what he described as a "most disturbing situation", Mr Justice Weir said: "The explanation as to how their untruths came to be told and the deliberate attempts, as I am satisfied they were, to conceal what the defence not unfairly characterised as the beefing up of the initial statement of Ms Cooper, are deeply disquieting."
The judge raised further concerns that "others concerned in the investigation and preparation of this case for trial beyond these two witnesses may also have played a part".
However, it emerged yesterday that neither officer is to be prosecuted.
In a statement, Police Ombudsman AI Hutchinson said Mr Justice Weir's criticism of the officers had been based on the photograph indicating their failure to wear forensic clothing at the bomb scene.
He said his investigators had now established that the photograph had been taken after all forensic tests had been completed.
Ruling that the officers had not in fact lied, the ombudsman said: "The information the officers gave to the court about the forensic precautions taken at the scene of the mortar bomb was accurate, although confused."
Mr Hutchinson also said he found no evidence that the officers had "beefed up" their statements, although details about when and how their statements were made had been inaccurate.
"If by the term 'beefing up' it is meant to suggest that police officers added untrue information to their statements, then we have found no evidence that police statements were 'beefed up'," he said.
However, he said "the two police officers were confused in the evidence they gave to the court".
The ombudsman also described the Omagh bombing investigation's failure to disclose parts of the 'officers' statements to the trial as an "administrative oversight".
He confirmed that the police investigation had lost documents and officers had not met the accepted practice for updating statements.
Solicitors for Mr Hoey, who was acquitted of a range of charges including the Omagh bombing murders, last night described the ombudsman's report as "deeply flawed" and said they were considering legal action to challenge it.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0989
Published Date: 20-Feb-09
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