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Omagh civil action plan likely to collapse as legal fees drain funds

THE civil action by relatives of the Omagh bomb victims against those they accuse of playing a part in the atrocity is rapidly running out of funds, it was claimed yesterday.
Despite raising £1.2 million to begin proceedings, they now need close to another £1 million if the case is to get to court.
Legal fees have all but eaten up the money already raised - with the help of figures such as rock singer Bob Geldof and former Secretary of State Peter Mandelson - with further substantial charges anticipated.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, the firm of solicitors handling the case, H2O, has already billed the trustees of the fighting fund for about £800,000.
It is thought the total bill for the company's services could rise to £1.1 million by the time the case is over.
Those fees do not include the cost of barristers, with the firm of Matrix - of which Tony Blair's wife, Cherie Booth QC, is a founding partner - having been chosen.
Some £100,000 has already been paid to barristers, both from Matrix and in Northern Ireland. With four expected to be engaged in the case, the total bill is estimated to run to close on half-a-million pounds.
The two bills combined would then amount to £1.6 million. The newspaper estimates that, combined with other costs, that would leave the Omagh Victims' Fund short by £840,000.
The legal firm declined to comment publicly on its costs - which, despite the amount involved, are heavily discounted compared to a commercial case - though they did supply the Sunday Telegraph with a breakdown of its figures on the understanding they weren't published.
Likewise, relatives declined to comment on the situation.