OMAGH BOMB RELATIVES SEEK FACE-TO-FACE MEETING WITH BLAIR
Omagh bomb relatives seek face to face meeting with Blair
by Karen McPhilemy
OMAGH bomb relatives have called for face-to-face talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair, during a meeting with the Secretary of State, Paul Murphy.
On Monday families of some of 29 people and unborn twins killed in the August 1998 bombing travelled to Belfast for a two-and-a-half hour
meeting with Mr. Murphy, during which they asked for a meeting with Mr Blair.
Described as a 'frank' meeting, the families who attended pressed for a cross-border inquiry into the atrocity, and aired concern over the treatment of victims.
The group urged Mr Murphy to do more to get co-operation from authorities in the Republic.
They also demanded information about how heavily the security services had infiltrated the Real IRA before the dissident republican group carried out the attack.
The families also expressed their concern over the fact that the Nally team had not interviewed Paddy Nixon, a former garda informant who allegedly supplied stolen cars to the Real IRA, when compiling the Nally Report.
Downing Street
Speaking after the meeting Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan died in the blast, said it was now time to go to Downing Street.
"We have met everybody else and now it's time to meet Tony Blair," he said.
"At the end of the day that's the man that all this rests with.
"Paul Murphy told us he would directly pass on our request to him. And we left him in no doubt about what we expect from the government in terms of the ongoing investigation and treatment of victims.
"We aired many of our concerns to him in particular co-operation with the government in Dublin and the investigations in NI. We also expressed concern over the Paddy Nixon case and allegations the gardai had prior knowledge about the Omagh bomb."
Mr Gallagher said that the families felt they had a good meeting with the Secretary of State, but added that they were surprised to learn that Mr Murphy had neither received or requested a copy of the Nally Report.
Requested
"We asked him if he had received a copy of the Nally Report and he said he didn't. We then asked if he had requested one but again he said no. We thought it was quite remarkable that he hadn't seen it and were particularly shocked to hear that he hadn't requested a copy prior to this meeting.
"We didn't get many answers but at least we got the opportunity to air our concerns to the Secretary of State and from what we could see he did take them on board," he said
Mr Gallagher added that another meeting with Mr Murphy is to take place after the Summer months.
by Karen McPhilemy
OMAGH bomb relatives have called for face-to-face talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair, during a meeting with the Secretary of State, Paul Murphy.
On Monday families of some of 29 people and unborn twins killed in the August 1998 bombing travelled to Belfast for a two-and-a-half hour
meeting with Mr. Murphy, during which they asked for a meeting with Mr Blair.
Described as a 'frank' meeting, the families who attended pressed for a cross-border inquiry into the atrocity, and aired concern over the treatment of victims.
The group urged Mr Murphy to do more to get co-operation from authorities in the Republic.
They also demanded information about how heavily the security services had infiltrated the Real IRA before the dissident republican group carried out the attack.
The families also expressed their concern over the fact that the Nally team had not interviewed Paddy Nixon, a former garda informant who allegedly supplied stolen cars to the Real IRA, when compiling the Nally Report.
Downing Street
Speaking after the meeting Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan died in the blast, said it was now time to go to Downing Street.
"We have met everybody else and now it's time to meet Tony Blair," he said.
"At the end of the day that's the man that all this rests with.
"Paul Murphy told us he would directly pass on our request to him. And we left him in no doubt about what we expect from the government in terms of the ongoing investigation and treatment of victims.
"We aired many of our concerns to him in particular co-operation with the government in Dublin and the investigations in NI. We also expressed concern over the Paddy Nixon case and allegations the gardai had prior knowledge about the Omagh bomb."
Mr Gallagher said that the families felt they had a good meeting with the Secretary of State, but added that they were surprised to learn that Mr Murphy had neither received or requested a copy of the Nally Report.
Requested
"We asked him if he had received a copy of the Nally Report and he said he didn't. We then asked if he had requested one but again he said no. We thought it was quite remarkable that he hadn't seen it and were particularly shocked to hear that he hadn't requested a copy prior to this meeting.
"We didn't get many answers but at least we got the opportunity to air our concerns to the Secretary of State and from what we could see he did take them on board," he said
Mr Gallagher added that another meeting with Mr Murphy is to take place after the Summer months.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1700
Published Date: 17-Jun-04
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