POLICE CHIEFS HOLD CRUCIAL TALKS ON BLAST INVESTIGATION
Police chiefs hold crucial talks on blast investigation
DETECTIVES from Belfast and Dublin met in Omagh yesterday (Wednesday) for crucial talks on the progress of the investigation into the Market Street bombing.
And it has also emerged that RUC Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan has agreed to an independent review of his team's inquiry by a British police officer.
Only one man so far has been charged in connection with the bombing, which left 29 people dead and hundreds injured. He is to stand trial in Dublin.
With the first anniversary being marked with emotional ceremonies in Omagh this weekend, it has been claimed that up to 60 people were directly involved in the atrocity, or had advance knowledge that some sort of an attack was being planned.
The majority of them have been questioned at some stage, sometimes twice, and while detectives have more or less established where and who assembled the 3501b bomb, and how it was transported across the Co. Tyrone countryside into Omagh's Market Street, the Real IRA terrorists involved are still free.
RUC Detective Chief Superintendent Eric Anderson and Assistant Garda Commissioner Kevin Carty, who are heading the huge investigation, were at the talks in Omagh yesterday to discuss where they go from here.
Garda Detective Inspector Tadgh Foley and RUC Superintendent Hamilton Houston were also involved in the meeting, which was being viewed by both sides as crucial if further progress in the inquiry is to be made.
An estimated 4,000 witnesses have been interviewed as part of the unprecedented joint investigation, with statements made by almost 75 per cent of them.
The independent review of the inquiry, to be carried out in accordance with guidelines set out by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), is part of normal procedures into serious crime.
If the Gardai agree, the outside officer in charge will study their files as well to see if any line of inquiry has been overlooked or needs to be reexamined.
The day to day running of the investigation has not been scaled down, but there was feeling among some officers in the two forces that the killers would remain out of reach, unless there was a major breakthrough in the foreseeable future.
Confirming yesterday's meeting, an RUC spokesman said it was common practice in many major investigations to review progress.
He said a similar exercise was underway in London into the Jill Dando murder, and the Omagh review would be carried out in accordance with ACPO guidelines.
"This is normal procedure where serious crime is involved. Such reviews enable an officer not previously involved in the investigation to provide an independent overview," he said.
DETECTIVES from Belfast and Dublin met in Omagh yesterday (Wednesday) for crucial talks on the progress of the investigation into the Market Street bombing.
And it has also emerged that RUC Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan has agreed to an independent review of his team's inquiry by a British police officer.
Only one man so far has been charged in connection with the bombing, which left 29 people dead and hundreds injured. He is to stand trial in Dublin.
With the first anniversary being marked with emotional ceremonies in Omagh this weekend, it has been claimed that up to 60 people were directly involved in the atrocity, or had advance knowledge that some sort of an attack was being planned.
The majority of them have been questioned at some stage, sometimes twice, and while detectives have more or less established where and who assembled the 3501b bomb, and how it was transported across the Co. Tyrone countryside into Omagh's Market Street, the Real IRA terrorists involved are still free.
RUC Detective Chief Superintendent Eric Anderson and Assistant Garda Commissioner Kevin Carty, who are heading the huge investigation, were at the talks in Omagh yesterday to discuss where they go from here.
Garda Detective Inspector Tadgh Foley and RUC Superintendent Hamilton Houston were also involved in the meeting, which was being viewed by both sides as crucial if further progress in the inquiry is to be made.
An estimated 4,000 witnesses have been interviewed as part of the unprecedented joint investigation, with statements made by almost 75 per cent of them.
The independent review of the inquiry, to be carried out in accordance with guidelines set out by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), is part of normal procedures into serious crime.
If the Gardai agree, the outside officer in charge will study their files as well to see if any line of inquiry has been overlooked or needs to be reexamined.
The day to day running of the investigation has not been scaled down, but there was feeling among some officers in the two forces that the killers would remain out of reach, unless there was a major breakthrough in the foreseeable future.
Confirming yesterday's meeting, an RUC spokesman said it was common practice in many major investigations to review progress.
He said a similar exercise was underway in London into the Jill Dando murder, and the Omagh review would be carried out in accordance with ACPO guidelines.
"This is normal procedure where serious crime is involved. Such reviews enable an officer not previously involved in the investigation to provide an independent overview," he said.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/0615
Published Date: 12-Aug-99
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