MP DRAWS BACK ON NAMING BOMB SUSPECTS
MP DRAWS BACK ON NAMING BOMB SUSPECTS
CONSERVATIVE MP, Mr. Andrew Hunter, has stepped back from his threat to "name and shame" the Omagh bomb suspects in the House of Commons at least temporarily.
Mr. Hunter had said he would use Parliamentary privilege on Wednesday to name those he claims carried out the bombing, and those behind paramilitary punishment beatings.
However, in a change of heart, Mr. Hunter said he was seeking legal advice, and might name the suspects at a future date.
The Secretary of State, Dr. Mo Mowlam, had led calls on Mr. Hunter not to name them. She said it might prejudice any trial.
His last-minute decision not to go public with names has been viewed as the right one by the father of one of the bomb victims.
Mr. Michael Gallagher, who lost his son, Adrian, said yesterday that he did not want to see any future trial of those who carried out the atrocity prejudiced.
"I can understand the frustration people feel, myself included, that these bombers are going about their normal lives while we are suffering," he said.
"But 1 feel that if Mr. Hunter named them, and they were eventually brought to trial and walked away because they claimed they had already been tried by the media, it would be a bitter betrayal of all those who died."
Mr. Gallagher went on to appeal to those who had information about those involved in the bombing to contact the police or the gardai.
"A safe conviction is the best way forward. I don't believe that the police have given up. The police and gardai are working closely together, and we have to have confidence in them," he said.
"It is too early to name names. That would be a final recourse. All police inquiries must be exhausted to ensure that justice is done. That would be the answer to everyone's prayers."
Speaking in a radio interview yesterday, Mr. Hunter said: "I have pressed the pause button rather than abandon the idea altogether."
He went on: "The reasons are pretty straightforward. Yesterday, the Secretary of State declared that naming terrorists in Parliament might prejudice a future trial. That is entirely contrary to the legal advice I have been given, but obviously the issue is so important that one cannot take any risks and be responsible for so doing."
Asked what he had hoped to achieve by naming names, Mr. Hunter said he had shared the widespread anger and frustration that criminals are too infrequently being brought to justice.
He said this was also true of those who carried out punishment beatings - whom he had also threatened to name.
"Significantly, in parts of Northern Ireland the rule of law is hardly applied, and that is not a situation that can be tolerated," he said.
He denied he had been involved in "a political stunt", and said he had spoken to the families of three of the Omagh victims, none of whom made that point of view to him.
He said he was aware of the comments of Detective Chief Superintendent Eric Anderson, who is in charge of the RUC investigation.
He had been reported as saying that the identities of six of those involved in the Omagh attack were known to police, but there was not enough evidence to bring a case against them.
CONSERVATIVE MP, Mr. Andrew Hunter, has stepped back from his threat to "name and shame" the Omagh bomb suspects in the House of Commons at least temporarily.
Mr. Hunter had said he would use Parliamentary privilege on Wednesday to name those he claims carried out the bombing, and those behind paramilitary punishment beatings.
However, in a change of heart, Mr. Hunter said he was seeking legal advice, and might name the suspects at a future date.
The Secretary of State, Dr. Mo Mowlam, had led calls on Mr. Hunter not to name them. She said it might prejudice any trial.
His last-minute decision not to go public with names has been viewed as the right one by the father of one of the bomb victims.
Mr. Michael Gallagher, who lost his son, Adrian, said yesterday that he did not want to see any future trial of those who carried out the atrocity prejudiced.
"I can understand the frustration people feel, myself included, that these bombers are going about their normal lives while we are suffering," he said.
"But 1 feel that if Mr. Hunter named them, and they were eventually brought to trial and walked away because they claimed they had already been tried by the media, it would be a bitter betrayal of all those who died."
Mr. Gallagher went on to appeal to those who had information about those involved in the bombing to contact the police or the gardai.
"A safe conviction is the best way forward. I don't believe that the police have given up. The police and gardai are working closely together, and we have to have confidence in them," he said.
"It is too early to name names. That would be a final recourse. All police inquiries must be exhausted to ensure that justice is done. That would be the answer to everyone's prayers."
Speaking in a radio interview yesterday, Mr. Hunter said: "I have pressed the pause button rather than abandon the idea altogether."
He went on: "The reasons are pretty straightforward. Yesterday, the Secretary of State declared that naming terrorists in Parliament might prejudice a future trial. That is entirely contrary to the legal advice I have been given, but obviously the issue is so important that one cannot take any risks and be responsible for so doing."
Asked what he had hoped to achieve by naming names, Mr. Hunter said he had shared the widespread anger and frustration that criminals are too infrequently being brought to justice.
He said this was also true of those who carried out punishment beatings - whom he had also threatened to name.
"Significantly, in parts of Northern Ireland the rule of law is hardly applied, and that is not a situation that can be tolerated," he said.
He denied he had been involved in "a political stunt", and said he had spoken to the families of three of the Omagh victims, none of whom made that point of view to him.
He said he was aware of the comments of Detective Chief Superintendent Eric Anderson, who is in charge of the RUC investigation.
He had been reported as saying that the identities of six of those involved in the Omagh attack were known to police, but there was not enough evidence to bring a case against them.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/0601
Published Date: 21-Jan-99
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