OMAGH FAMILIES UNSATISFIED AFTER FLANAGAN BRIEFING
Omagh families 'unsatisfied' after Flanagan briefing
FAMILIES of those who died and those who were injured in the Omagh bombing considered withdrawing their support for the investigation following the briefing they received from Sir Ronnie Flanagan, the Chief Constable, representatives have said.
The Chief Constable travelled to Omagh on Thursday of last week to give his response to the damning report of Nuala O'Loan, the Police Ombudsman.
But after a meeting lasting almost five hours, relatives said they were not satisfied with what they had heard.
One relative said he had "gained nothing" from the meeting, and said he might as well have stayed at home. Others said they felt lost and confused.
During the meeting, the Chief Constable gave a detailed response to Mrs. O'Loan's report, rejecting most of the points she had made. He also spent some time answering detailed questions from relatives.
About 70 relatives attended the meeting in the Silverbirch Hotel. As well as the Chief Constable, the 'platform party' included a senior forensic scientist, senior PSNI officers and two senior Garda detectives. The meeting was chaired by Sir Kenneth Bloomfield, the former victims' ombudsman.
The Chief Constable told relatives that mistakes had been made, but he still felt that those who planned and carried out the attack could be brought to justice if those who had information gave it to the authorities.
Much of the criticism in the Ombudsman's report centred around information that the police had in advance of the August 15 blast. One part of that was information given by the informer 'Kevin Fulton' that a major event was in the offing, and the second was an anonymous telephone warning that a gun and bomb attack in the Omagh area was to take place on August 15.
Rejected
The Chief Constable rejected any suggestion that more action on those two warnings could have prevented the attack.
He also rejected six main recommendations made by the Police Ombudsman, accepting only that a senior officer would be brought in from Liverpool to advise on the continuing investigation.
Giving an initial reaction to the meeting, Mr,. Michael Gallagher, chairman of the Omagh Self-Help Group, said: "I felt very disappointed. I think the Chief Constable could have offered more than he did, that he could go some way to meet Nuala O'Loan.
"It appears what he is saying is 'we have done nothing wrong apart for some minor administrative errors' and that is hard to accept."
Mr. Gallagher's son was killed in the blast.
That feeling was echoed by others who had been in the meeting.
Mr. Laurence Rush, who lost his wife Libbi in the attack, was scathing of the Chief Constable's response. Stressing that he spoke only for himself and his family, Mr. Rush said the people of Omagh had been "drowned" in a long monotonous denial surrounding police investigative "inaccuracies."
And Mr. William Gibson, meanwhile, said he had learned nothing new from the meeting.
"I might as well have stayed at home," he said
Mr. Gibson's daughter was killed in the explosion.
The Omagh families felt that they were the 'ball' being batted about between the Chief Constable and the Police Ombudsman, Mr. Stanley McCombe said after last Thursday's meeting with Sir Ronnie Flanagan.
Mr. McCombe, whose wife Anne died in the blast, said: "Sir Ronnie and Nuala O'Loan have to sort their own differences out. Let these two people come together on camera. Let the world hear them."
Kevin Skelton, whose wife was killed in the explosion, said: "I am fed up and sick of the way things have gone on, especially over the last few months. They have turned this atrocity into a political football.
"I want justice for the people that were killed. To be quite honest the way things are going, I want nothing more to do with it.
"If Ronnie Flanagan stood up in front of me and held his two hands up and said, 'Kevin, I understand, my men made mistakes, they are only human beings', I would walk out of the room a happy man."
The meeting attracted media teams from far and wide, with more reporters and camera crews than had been present for the presentation of Mrs.O'Loan's report six weeks before.
The meeting began at about 10.15am, but it was not until almost 2.30 that relatives came out to speak to the Press.
Later, Sir Ronnie fielded questions from the media at a Press conference in the hotel.
FAMILIES of those who died and those who were injured in the Omagh bombing considered withdrawing their support for the investigation following the briefing they received from Sir Ronnie Flanagan, the Chief Constable, representatives have said.
The Chief Constable travelled to Omagh on Thursday of last week to give his response to the damning report of Nuala O'Loan, the Police Ombudsman.
But after a meeting lasting almost five hours, relatives said they were not satisfied with what they had heard.
One relative said he had "gained nothing" from the meeting, and said he might as well have stayed at home. Others said they felt lost and confused.
During the meeting, the Chief Constable gave a detailed response to Mrs. O'Loan's report, rejecting most of the points she had made. He also spent some time answering detailed questions from relatives.
About 70 relatives attended the meeting in the Silverbirch Hotel. As well as the Chief Constable, the 'platform party' included a senior forensic scientist, senior PSNI officers and two senior Garda detectives. The meeting was chaired by Sir Kenneth Bloomfield, the former victims' ombudsman.
The Chief Constable told relatives that mistakes had been made, but he still felt that those who planned and carried out the attack could be brought to justice if those who had information gave it to the authorities.
Much of the criticism in the Ombudsman's report centred around information that the police had in advance of the August 15 blast. One part of that was information given by the informer 'Kevin Fulton' that a major event was in the offing, and the second was an anonymous telephone warning that a gun and bomb attack in the Omagh area was to take place on August 15.
Rejected
The Chief Constable rejected any suggestion that more action on those two warnings could have prevented the attack.
He also rejected six main recommendations made by the Police Ombudsman, accepting only that a senior officer would be brought in from Liverpool to advise on the continuing investigation.
Giving an initial reaction to the meeting, Mr,. Michael Gallagher, chairman of the Omagh Self-Help Group, said: "I felt very disappointed. I think the Chief Constable could have offered more than he did, that he could go some way to meet Nuala O'Loan.
"It appears what he is saying is 'we have done nothing wrong apart for some minor administrative errors' and that is hard to accept."
Mr. Gallagher's son was killed in the blast.
That feeling was echoed by others who had been in the meeting.
Mr. Laurence Rush, who lost his wife Libbi in the attack, was scathing of the Chief Constable's response. Stressing that he spoke only for himself and his family, Mr. Rush said the people of Omagh had been "drowned" in a long monotonous denial surrounding police investigative "inaccuracies."
And Mr. William Gibson, meanwhile, said he had learned nothing new from the meeting.
"I might as well have stayed at home," he said
Mr. Gibson's daughter was killed in the explosion.
The Omagh families felt that they were the 'ball' being batted about between the Chief Constable and the Police Ombudsman, Mr. Stanley McCombe said after last Thursday's meeting with Sir Ronnie Flanagan.
Mr. McCombe, whose wife Anne died in the blast, said: "Sir Ronnie and Nuala O'Loan have to sort their own differences out. Let these two people come together on camera. Let the world hear them."
Kevin Skelton, whose wife was killed in the explosion, said: "I am fed up and sick of the way things have gone on, especially over the last few months. They have turned this atrocity into a political football.
"I want justice for the people that were killed. To be quite honest the way things are going, I want nothing more to do with it.
"If Ronnie Flanagan stood up in front of me and held his two hands up and said, 'Kevin, I understand, my men made mistakes, they are only human beings', I would walk out of the room a happy man."
The meeting attracted media teams from far and wide, with more reporters and camera crews than had been present for the presentation of Mrs.O'Loan's report six weeks before.
The meeting began at about 10.15am, but it was not until almost 2.30 that relatives came out to speak to the Press.
Later, Sir Ronnie fielded questions from the media at a Press conference in the hotel.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1006
Published Date: 31-Jan-02
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