THE NET IS CLOSING IN ON OMAGH KILLERS
The net is closing on Omagh killers'
THE net is closing on the Omagh bombers, it was claimed yesterday. Stanley McCombe, whose wife, a mother of two, was among the dead, said justice had to be done.
He spoke as police on both sides of the border promised there would be no let-up in their efforts to bring the men who planted the bomb to court.
Mr McCombe said: "We owe it to those who died to have our say in court and put our case against those who we think were responsible.
"The net is closing in on the Omagh bombers. Having come this far, we cannot let them get away."
Declaring the McKevitt guilty verdict as a great step forward, he added: "We now know what we suspected all along. McKevitt is a terrorist, a man who has the blood of innocent people on his hands."
Other relatives are not so sure that the terrorists who murdered 29 people at Omagh will ever by captured.
Even though police on both sides of the border have identified the key terrorists who plotted and carried out the atrocity, nobody has yet been charged with any of the killings.
Relatives are involved in a �10 million civil action against the suspects.
A High Court bid to sue them for compensation may start later this year but Michael Gallagher believes the killers may never be brought before a judge in a criminal court.
Mr Gallagher, whose son, Aiden, 21, was among those killed, said: "It's looking highly unlikely they will ever be caught and brought to justice." Confidence in the police investigation has drained ever since a damning report revealed that Special Branch handlers received two warnings before Omagh of an imminent attack but never passed them on to detectives in the Tyrone town.
Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan's devastating dossier on the inquiry also accused former Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan of flawed leadership.
In a bid to restore confidence in the investigation, police said yesterday that they were actively following several lines of inquiry.
Det Supt Norman Baxter, who heads a team of 24 detectives working full-time on the investigation, said there was full cross-border police co-operation.
He said: "Personally, I also find it disappointing that we have arrived at the fifth anniversary of the Omagh bomb without a successful prosecution against the perpetrators of this atrocity."
Mr Gallagher claimed detectives faced an impossible task because the British and Irish governments have refused to provide full backing.
"The Police Service of Northern Ireland is carrying out this investigation with one hand tied behind its back," he said.
"There has never been the political will in London or Dublin to resolve this crime."
Mr Baxter, who has met the families regularly to brief them on the inquiry, said: "I understand the sense of frustration of the bereaved and the victims at the failure of the criminal justice system to bring this investigation to a successful conclusion.
"We remain firm in our resolve to bring those responsible to account."
THE net is closing on the Omagh bombers, it was claimed yesterday. Stanley McCombe, whose wife, a mother of two, was among the dead, said justice had to be done.
He spoke as police on both sides of the border promised there would be no let-up in their efforts to bring the men who planted the bomb to court.
Mr McCombe said: "We owe it to those who died to have our say in court and put our case against those who we think were responsible.
"The net is closing in on the Omagh bombers. Having come this far, we cannot let them get away."
Declaring the McKevitt guilty verdict as a great step forward, he added: "We now know what we suspected all along. McKevitt is a terrorist, a man who has the blood of innocent people on his hands."
Other relatives are not so sure that the terrorists who murdered 29 people at Omagh will ever by captured.
Even though police on both sides of the border have identified the key terrorists who plotted and carried out the atrocity, nobody has yet been charged with any of the killings.
Relatives are involved in a �10 million civil action against the suspects.
A High Court bid to sue them for compensation may start later this year but Michael Gallagher believes the killers may never be brought before a judge in a criminal court.
Mr Gallagher, whose son, Aiden, 21, was among those killed, said: "It's looking highly unlikely they will ever be caught and brought to justice." Confidence in the police investigation has drained ever since a damning report revealed that Special Branch handlers received two warnings before Omagh of an imminent attack but never passed them on to detectives in the Tyrone town.
Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan's devastating dossier on the inquiry also accused former Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan of flawed leadership.
In a bid to restore confidence in the investigation, police said yesterday that they were actively following several lines of inquiry.
Det Supt Norman Baxter, who heads a team of 24 detectives working full-time on the investigation, said there was full cross-border police co-operation.
He said: "Personally, I also find it disappointing that we have arrived at the fifth anniversary of the Omagh bomb without a successful prosecution against the perpetrators of this atrocity."
Mr Gallagher claimed detectives faced an impossible task because the British and Irish governments have refused to provide full backing.
"The Police Service of Northern Ireland is carrying out this investigation with one hand tied behind its back," he said.
"There has never been the political will in London or Dublin to resolve this crime."
Mr Baxter, who has met the families regularly to brief them on the inquiry, said: "I understand the sense of frustration of the bereaved and the victims at the failure of the criminal justice system to bring this investigation to a successful conclusion.
"We remain firm in our resolve to bring those responsible to account."
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/470
Published Date: 07-Aug-03
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