TC/0857

I'll name Omagh bombers, says top ranking RUC man

THE top-ranking police officer who led the investigation into the Omagh bombing atrocity of August 1998 says he knows who carried out the attack and will name them in court if the victims' relatives want him to.
Fifty-four year-old Chief Superintendent Eric Anderson is to retire from the RUC this weekend under the terms of the Patten report.
However, Chief Supt. Anderson may well be thrust back into the limelight within months of leaving the force after confirming he will give evidence in the high court, if asked to, as part of the civil action being taken by relatives of the Omagh victims.
Speaking to a Dublin Sunday newspaper the senior police officer said: "I will name the Real IRA bombers who murdered 29 innocent men, women and children in Omagh in court if that is what the relatives of the victims want me to do.
"I am fully aware that they are planning a High Court case where the intention is that the identities of the bombers will be made public.
"I have told the people of Omagh that I will support them in whatever way I can.
"I will not walk away from them and if that means joining their campaign to have the bombers named even in open court I will do whatever is necessary," said Chief Supt. Anderson.
The move is seen in some quarters as a major breakthrough for the relatives' group who have been campaigning for more than two years to have those who carried out the bombing brought to justice.
The group aims to raise £lm to finance their case and have already received backing from former Secretaries of State, Sir. Patrick Mayhew and Peter Mandelson.
Victor Barker, the London lawyer, whose son James was killed in the bombing, hailed Mr. Anderson's decision as heroic.
He said: "Eric has been the one person who has remained steadfast throughout this whole affair.
"He has always been very committed to doing his job which was tracking down bombers. I and other relatives of the victims have nothing but admiration for him."
Mr. Anderson will not be able to identify the bombers directly when the case comes to court.
However, Mr. Barker said: "If he is asked by our barrister: 'Do you believe so and so was involved in the Omagh bombing?', he will be able to respond: 'Yes, from my investigations I believe he was involved in the bombing.'
The legal action will be taken against named individuals rather than an organisation. In law the Real IRA is not a legal entity.
Angels
And one lawyer involved in the prospective legal action said it would be "like taking angels into court to face Darth Vader".
Jason McCue, of the London based law firm H20 Henderson Hempworth Organisation, told The Times on Tuesday it was hoped the civil case would bring out more evidence to allow a criminal conviction to follow.
Those backing the case point out there is at least one precedent for a civil case acting as a springboard for a criminal case. In 1998 the family of a murdered doctor, Joan Francisco, won a civil claim for unlawful killing and that led to the discovery of forensic evidence and the conviction of her boyfriend for murder.
But The Times also quoted Imran Khan, solicitor for the family of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, as warning that the court was bound to set a higher burden of proof than usually applies in civil cases.
The families are continuing to raise money to bring the case, and donations can be made by credit card by calling 0870 907 2000 or by cheque made out to the Omagh Victims' Legal Trust c/o H2O, 5 John Street, London WC1N 2HH.