OMAGH BOMB SUSPECTS ARE NAMED BY BBC
OMAGH BOMB SUSPECTS ARE NAMED BY BBC
By JILLY BEATTIE and MAURICE FITZMAURICE
11th hour bid to stop broadcast fails
THE BBC came under fire last night after naming four suspects allegedly quizzed by police investigating the Omagh bomb outrage.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and some of the victims' relatives hit out after the High Court in Belfast gave Panorama the go-ahead for the controversial broadcast.
Mr Ahern said: "Bandying around names on television programmes won't help the victims. In actual fact the legal people say it could well hinder them."
The High Court decision was announced just two hours before the broadcast after rejecting appeals by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the husband of one of the victims to stop the programme.
Twenty-nine people died in the blast in August 1998.
All four men were said to be linked to mobile telephones investigated by police probing the bombing.
Detectives tracked the movements of two of these phones from the Republic to Omagh and back again on the day of the atrocity, said the programme.
Their movements were consistent with the journey which could have been made by a scout car and the vehicle in which the bomb was transported.
But police have said the mobile telephone information was insufficient evidence to bring charges.
Panorama reporter John Ware tried to confront the four men at their homes and work in Republic but all four refused to answer his questions.
Detectives believe they know the identities of the bombers but do not have the final pieces of evidence to bring them to court.
The mood in Omagh last night was edgy as people argued whether the programme would help or hinder the massive police probe.
The father of Donna Marie McGillion, who suffered horrific injured in the bomb, branded the BBC as "irresponsible and insensitive".
He said: "The timing is all wrong. It shows no sense of sympathy or understanding as to what people have been through."
Panorama claimed the car used by the bombers was stolen to order for the Real IRA in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan.
It alleged 15 people were involved in assembling and hiding the bomb for two days.
It also said two key witnesses had told police they would not give evidence in court for fear of their lives.
The programmed contained graphic video footage from the day of the bombing and moving interviews with relatives of the dead and witnesses.
Royal Army Medical Corp officer Captain Sam Potter said: "There were bodies scattered all over the street, many had been covered, there were body parts, pieces of brain, pieces of arm, pieces of legs, it was a scene from hell.
"I see their faces, I see their faces daily. I look into my daughter's face and I see the faces of the children I saw that day."
Michael Gallagher who lost his 21-year-old son Adrian, said: "Nobody was put on trial tonight. People were simply asked to explain their movements.
"Given the size and severity of the atrocity any reasonable person would want to co-operate with police and clear their name.
"If it does jog someone's memory or conscience the programme has done a good job.
"I hope and pray some people have the courage to come forward."
By JILLY BEATTIE and MAURICE FITZMAURICE
11th hour bid to stop broadcast fails
THE BBC came under fire last night after naming four suspects allegedly quizzed by police investigating the Omagh bomb outrage.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and some of the victims' relatives hit out after the High Court in Belfast gave Panorama the go-ahead for the controversial broadcast.
Mr Ahern said: "Bandying around names on television programmes won't help the victims. In actual fact the legal people say it could well hinder them."
The High Court decision was announced just two hours before the broadcast after rejecting appeals by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the husband of one of the victims to stop the programme.
Twenty-nine people died in the blast in August 1998.
All four men were said to be linked to mobile telephones investigated by police probing the bombing.
Detectives tracked the movements of two of these phones from the Republic to Omagh and back again on the day of the atrocity, said the programme.
Their movements were consistent with the journey which could have been made by a scout car and the vehicle in which the bomb was transported.
But police have said the mobile telephone information was insufficient evidence to bring charges.
Panorama reporter John Ware tried to confront the four men at their homes and work in Republic but all four refused to answer his questions.
Detectives believe they know the identities of the bombers but do not have the final pieces of evidence to bring them to court.
The mood in Omagh last night was edgy as people argued whether the programme would help or hinder the massive police probe.
The father of Donna Marie McGillion, who suffered horrific injured in the bomb, branded the BBC as "irresponsible and insensitive".
He said: "The timing is all wrong. It shows no sense of sympathy or understanding as to what people have been through."
Panorama claimed the car used by the bombers was stolen to order for the Real IRA in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan.
It alleged 15 people were involved in assembling and hiding the bomb for two days.
It also said two key witnesses had told police they would not give evidence in court for fear of their lives.
The programmed contained graphic video footage from the day of the bombing and moving interviews with relatives of the dead and witnesses.
Royal Army Medical Corp officer Captain Sam Potter said: "There were bodies scattered all over the street, many had been covered, there were body parts, pieces of brain, pieces of arm, pieces of legs, it was a scene from hell.
"I see their faces, I see their faces daily. I look into my daughter's face and I see the faces of the children I saw that day."
Michael Gallagher who lost his 21-year-old son Adrian, said: "Nobody was put on trial tonight. People were simply asked to explain their movements.
"Given the size and severity of the atrocity any reasonable person would want to co-operate with police and clear their name.
"If it does jog someone's memory or conscience the programme has done a good job.
"I hope and pray some people have the courage to come forward."
Further Information
Publisher: THE MIRROR
Ref: TM/122
Published Date: 10-Oct-00
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