ANGRY OMAGH FAMILIES CALL FOR MEETING WITH MI5
Angry Omagh families call for meeting with MI5
by Jonathan Rainey
THE families of the Omagh bomb victims have slammed MI5 after it emerged last week that the British intelligence agency withheld vital anti-terrorism information from police in Northern Ireland just months before the attack.
The bereaved relatives have renewed their call for a full cross-border public inquiry into the atrocity, which killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, in the wake of the revelations. They have also demanded a meeting with the director-general of MI5, Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller.
The families have been supported in their call for a public inquiry by SDLP West Tyrone MLA, Eugene McMenamin, who added that government proposals to make MI5 the lead intelligence agency in the province should be halted.
At a meeting with senior PSNI officers in Omagh Library on Wednesday last, a group of the bereaved relatives were astonished to hear that David Rupert, the FBI agent who infiltrated the Real IRA, told MI5 in April 1998 that a bomb attack was being planned in Omagh or Londonderry, with Omagh being the 'preferred' target.
The senior PSNI officers all agreed that the secret agency had known five months in advance of a plot to bomb either Omagh or Londonderry with a Vauxhall Cavalier car, and knew that one of the suspects lived in Omagh.
However, while MI5 passed on the information they received to the Gardai, they failed to inform RUC Special Branch of the threat.
The relatives were outraged to hear this intelligence was never passed to police in Northern Ireland, even in the wake of the devastation caused by the Omagh bomb in August 1998.
It is understood MI5 also failed to inform two senior UK police officers called in by the PSNI to quality-assure a new investigation after the initial one came in for criticism from police ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan.
Michael Gallagher, who lost his son Aiden (21) in the terrorist attack, said that the revelations raised serious questions about MI5's ability and how they have handled intelligence in Northern Ireland.
Mr Gallagher, who is chairman of Omagh Support and Self-Help Group, said: "At best, this is criminal negligence. At worst, it's assisting a terrorist murder plot."
Expressing his concerns over the secret agency's unaccountability, he added: "This will not instil confidence in people. We don't know what other blunders they have been responsible for."
Mr Gallagher revealed that the Omagh victims group had written to the head of MI5, Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, asking for a meeting, but were still waiting for a response.
He also renewed his call for the British and Irish governments to set up a full cross-border independent inquiry, describing it as the least the two governments could do for the Omagh families.
"MI5 is considered one of the top intelligence agencies in the world and had their finger very much on the pulse, yet they failed to notify the RUC that Omagh was a chosen target of a very active terrorist group," he said.
Mr Gallagher added: "There must be a cross-border public inquiry to establish a truthful account of all the events surrounding Omagh. It's the least that the British and Irish governments can do.
"It must be thorough, comprehensive and impartial to find out exactly what happened and who should be held responsible for any failings. It is only then that we can get public closure and the families can begin to heal."
West Tyrone SDLP MLA Eugene McMenamin gave his full support to the call for a public inquiry, and revealed that his party would raise the matter during a meeting with the Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, today (Thursday).
Mr McMenamin also questioned whether MI5 should have any future role in intelligence gathering in the province after what has emerged during the last week.
He said: "The revelations around what M15 knew prior to the Omagh bombing and about what the Gardai were told leads to two compelling conclusions.
"The first, that there is a need for an all-Ireland independent inquiry into all the circumstances behind the Omagh bombing.
"The second, given that MI5 failed to account for what they did in the past, means they should have no role in the future.
"MI5 have failed to answer enormous questions around the single biggest atrocity of the conflict. How can this type of organisation have any future role in the north with any degree of public confidence?"
by Jonathan Rainey
THE families of the Omagh bomb victims have slammed MI5 after it emerged last week that the British intelligence agency withheld vital anti-terrorism information from police in Northern Ireland just months before the attack.
The bereaved relatives have renewed their call for a full cross-border public inquiry into the atrocity, which killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, in the wake of the revelations. They have also demanded a meeting with the director-general of MI5, Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller.
The families have been supported in their call for a public inquiry by SDLP West Tyrone MLA, Eugene McMenamin, who added that government proposals to make MI5 the lead intelligence agency in the province should be halted.
At a meeting with senior PSNI officers in Omagh Library on Wednesday last, a group of the bereaved relatives were astonished to hear that David Rupert, the FBI agent who infiltrated the Real IRA, told MI5 in April 1998 that a bomb attack was being planned in Omagh or Londonderry, with Omagh being the 'preferred' target.
The senior PSNI officers all agreed that the secret agency had known five months in advance of a plot to bomb either Omagh or Londonderry with a Vauxhall Cavalier car, and knew that one of the suspects lived in Omagh.
However, while MI5 passed on the information they received to the Gardai, they failed to inform RUC Special Branch of the threat.
The relatives were outraged to hear this intelligence was never passed to police in Northern Ireland, even in the wake of the devastation caused by the Omagh bomb in August 1998.
It is understood MI5 also failed to inform two senior UK police officers called in by the PSNI to quality-assure a new investigation after the initial one came in for criticism from police ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan.
Michael Gallagher, who lost his son Aiden (21) in the terrorist attack, said that the revelations raised serious questions about MI5's ability and how they have handled intelligence in Northern Ireland.
Mr Gallagher, who is chairman of Omagh Support and Self-Help Group, said: "At best, this is criminal negligence. At worst, it's assisting a terrorist murder plot."
Expressing his concerns over the secret agency's unaccountability, he added: "This will not instil confidence in people. We don't know what other blunders they have been responsible for."
Mr Gallagher revealed that the Omagh victims group had written to the head of MI5, Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, asking for a meeting, but were still waiting for a response.
He also renewed his call for the British and Irish governments to set up a full cross-border independent inquiry, describing it as the least the two governments could do for the Omagh families.
"MI5 is considered one of the top intelligence agencies in the world and had their finger very much on the pulse, yet they failed to notify the RUC that Omagh was a chosen target of a very active terrorist group," he said.
Mr Gallagher added: "There must be a cross-border public inquiry to establish a truthful account of all the events surrounding Omagh. It's the least that the British and Irish governments can do.
"It must be thorough, comprehensive and impartial to find out exactly what happened and who should be held responsible for any failings. It is only then that we can get public closure and the families can begin to heal."
West Tyrone SDLP MLA Eugene McMenamin gave his full support to the call for a public inquiry, and revealed that his party would raise the matter during a meeting with the Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, today (Thursday).
Mr McMenamin also questioned whether MI5 should have any future role in intelligence gathering in the province after what has emerged during the last week.
He said: "The revelations around what M15 knew prior to the Omagh bombing and about what the Gardai were told leads to two compelling conclusions.
"The first, that there is a need for an all-Ireland independent inquiry into all the circumstances behind the Omagh bombing.
"The second, given that MI5 failed to account for what they did in the past, means they should have no role in the future.
"MI5 have failed to answer enormous questions around the single biggest atrocity of the conflict. How can this type of organisation have any future role in the north with any degree of public confidence?"
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1830
Published Date: 02-Mar-06
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