MEMBERS OF OMAGH BOMB GANG WERE ARRESTED
16 MEMBERS OF OMAGH BOMB GANG WERE ARRESTED... BUT POLICE HAD TO LET THEM ALL GO
Report by JILLY BEATTIE
ALL 16 members of the Real IRA team involved in the Omagh bombing have been questioned by police, Sir Ronnie Flanagan revealed yesterday.
The gang was aided by Colm Murphy, who will be sentenced today after being found guilty of conspiring to cause the blast.
The PSNI Chief Constable told the families of the victims about the investigation into the atrocity.
He spent almost three hours with the 30 representatives of more than 600 families affected by the bombing and presented his response to the Police Ombudsman's scathing report.
Sir Ronnie said his officers had done everything possible to bring the bombers to justice and the investigation would continue.
Only Murphy, who provided mobile phones to the terrorists, has been charged or convicted. He is to be sentenced at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin.
Last night, families of the victims renewed their calls for a public inquiry into the RUC's handling of the bomb probe.
Kevin Skelton, whose wife Philomena was among the 31 killed in the August 1998 atrocity, said: "There has to be a public inquiry. We are three and a half years down the line.
"One person has been convicted and we have this battering match between the Chief Constable and Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan. It's just become a political football."
But Sir Ronnie insisted that the Omagh investigation was far from over.
He said: "The commitment of the Police Service of Northern Ireland to bring those responsible for Omagh to justice remains as absolute as ever and every investigative opportunity will continue to be explored to achieve that objective."
He told the families that the attack was carried out by a Real IRA unit operating mostly from Co Louth and South Armagh.
He said their identities were known to detectives who also knew how they operated but added: "Sadly this knowledge has not yet succeeded in bringing the Omagh murderers to justice."
The Chief Constable said the investigators had "captured" one billion telephone calls and analysed 6.4million of these leading to the recovery of three of the four mobiles used by the terrorists.
He gave the exact route that the bomb travelled from the Republic to Market Street in Omagh after misleading warning calls.
He said two vague warnings of possible terrorist activity could not have prevented the tragedy and revealed that in the five days before Omagh Special Branch had issued warnings that the Real IRA might use a 4X4 vehicle to bomb an unknown town.
He claimed that one anonymous warning, if it had been acted upon, of a gun and rocket attack on police in Omagh would have resulted in fewer officers than normal on the ground on August 15.
He added: "There was no intelligence whatsoever prior to August 15 that republican dissidents were planning a car bomb attack in Omagh.
"In July and August of 1998 Special Branch had handled 2,375 intelligence reports of possible terrorist activities.
"In the five months before and after the Omagh bomb over 50 separate covert and specialist operations were mounted against active republican terrorists.
"It is a source of profound regret and disappointment that, despite all this work, no intelligence was available to suggest that Omagh was to be the target of a bomb attack on August 15."
The Ombudsman's report last month accused the Chief Constable and one of his deputies of "defective leadership, poor judgement and a lack of urgency."
Sir Ronnie's reply was: "These accusations are rejected absolutely. There has been no lack of urgency."
He also rejected her claims that the force's Special Branch was "a force within a force" and that her investigators had not been given sufficient access and cooperation.
But Mrs O'Loan last night strongly defended her report into the RUC's investigation into the Omagh bomb.
She called for rigorous investigative procedures to be put in place for the future and acknowledged there were clear disagreements between her findings and the information presented by Sir Ronnie.
She added: "I acknowledged in my report and I do so again that the bombing was a massive atrocity and the responsibility of the RUC/PSNI was awesome.
"In so many ways they deserve credit for much of what they have done.
"It would not have been right of me to minimise or be deflected from making criticism of the failures and efficiencies which we find over the past months, many of which were clearly identified by their own internal review."
Michael Gallagher - whose 21-year-old son Aidan was among those murdered in the atrocity - said he could take no satisfaction from the meeting with Sir Ronnie.
He added: "I'm sorry to say that I did not have a single question answered satisfactorily by the Chief Constable.
"We have been bombarded today by a huge amount of facts and figures and it is going to take a while to disseminate the lot.
"While we were given the chance to ask the questions we needed answered, I don't think anybody has left the meeting satisfied with the answers they got."
Sir Ronnie accepted the criticism and admitted that he would likely feel the same had he been in their situation.
He added: "I'm very disappointed Mr Gallagher feels as he does.
"But I hope that after the families of the victims have had the time and opportunity to study our report they will find satisfaction."
Marion Radford, who lost her son Alan in the bomb, said she appreciated the Chief Constable's presence in Omagh but said his responses had left her feeling confused and overwhelmed.
She added: "We had questions to ask and answers we needed.
"But so much information was going backwards and forwards that it was difficult to keep up with everything.
"Today has left me physically and emotionally exhausted.
"Once again I'll go into my house and grieve for Alan after the old wounds have been opened."
Report by JILLY BEATTIE
ALL 16 members of the Real IRA team involved in the Omagh bombing have been questioned by police, Sir Ronnie Flanagan revealed yesterday.
The gang was aided by Colm Murphy, who will be sentenced today after being found guilty of conspiring to cause the blast.
The PSNI Chief Constable told the families of the victims about the investigation into the atrocity.
He spent almost three hours with the 30 representatives of more than 600 families affected by the bombing and presented his response to the Police Ombudsman's scathing report.
Sir Ronnie said his officers had done everything possible to bring the bombers to justice and the investigation would continue.
Only Murphy, who provided mobile phones to the terrorists, has been charged or convicted. He is to be sentenced at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin.
Last night, families of the victims renewed their calls for a public inquiry into the RUC's handling of the bomb probe.
Kevin Skelton, whose wife Philomena was among the 31 killed in the August 1998 atrocity, said: "There has to be a public inquiry. We are three and a half years down the line.
"One person has been convicted and we have this battering match between the Chief Constable and Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan. It's just become a political football."
But Sir Ronnie insisted that the Omagh investigation was far from over.
He said: "The commitment of the Police Service of Northern Ireland to bring those responsible for Omagh to justice remains as absolute as ever and every investigative opportunity will continue to be explored to achieve that objective."
He told the families that the attack was carried out by a Real IRA unit operating mostly from Co Louth and South Armagh.
He said their identities were known to detectives who also knew how they operated but added: "Sadly this knowledge has not yet succeeded in bringing the Omagh murderers to justice."
The Chief Constable said the investigators had "captured" one billion telephone calls and analysed 6.4million of these leading to the recovery of three of the four mobiles used by the terrorists.
He gave the exact route that the bomb travelled from the Republic to Market Street in Omagh after misleading warning calls.
He said two vague warnings of possible terrorist activity could not have prevented the tragedy and revealed that in the five days before Omagh Special Branch had issued warnings that the Real IRA might use a 4X4 vehicle to bomb an unknown town.
He claimed that one anonymous warning, if it had been acted upon, of a gun and rocket attack on police in Omagh would have resulted in fewer officers than normal on the ground on August 15.
He added: "There was no intelligence whatsoever prior to August 15 that republican dissidents were planning a car bomb attack in Omagh.
"In July and August of 1998 Special Branch had handled 2,375 intelligence reports of possible terrorist activities.
"In the five months before and after the Omagh bomb over 50 separate covert and specialist operations were mounted against active republican terrorists.
"It is a source of profound regret and disappointment that, despite all this work, no intelligence was available to suggest that Omagh was to be the target of a bomb attack on August 15."
The Ombudsman's report last month accused the Chief Constable and one of his deputies of "defective leadership, poor judgement and a lack of urgency."
Sir Ronnie's reply was: "These accusations are rejected absolutely. There has been no lack of urgency."
He also rejected her claims that the force's Special Branch was "a force within a force" and that her investigators had not been given sufficient access and cooperation.
But Mrs O'Loan last night strongly defended her report into the RUC's investigation into the Omagh bomb.
She called for rigorous investigative procedures to be put in place for the future and acknowledged there were clear disagreements between her findings and the information presented by Sir Ronnie.
She added: "I acknowledged in my report and I do so again that the bombing was a massive atrocity and the responsibility of the RUC/PSNI was awesome.
"In so many ways they deserve credit for much of what they have done.
"It would not have been right of me to minimise or be deflected from making criticism of the failures and efficiencies which we find over the past months, many of which were clearly identified by their own internal review."
Michael Gallagher - whose 21-year-old son Aidan was among those murdered in the atrocity - said he could take no satisfaction from the meeting with Sir Ronnie.
He added: "I'm sorry to say that I did not have a single question answered satisfactorily by the Chief Constable.
"We have been bombarded today by a huge amount of facts and figures and it is going to take a while to disseminate the lot.
"While we were given the chance to ask the questions we needed answered, I don't think anybody has left the meeting satisfied with the answers they got."
Sir Ronnie accepted the criticism and admitted that he would likely feel the same had he been in their situation.
He added: "I'm very disappointed Mr Gallagher feels as he does.
"But I hope that after the families of the victims have had the time and opportunity to study our report they will find satisfaction."
Marion Radford, who lost her son Alan in the bomb, said she appreciated the Chief Constable's presence in Omagh but said his responses had left her feeling confused and overwhelmed.
She added: "We had questions to ask and answers we needed.
"But so much information was going backwards and forwards that it was difficult to keep up with everything.
"Today has left me physically and emotionally exhausted.
"Once again I'll go into my house and grieve for Alan after the old wounds have been opened."
Further Information
Publisher: THE MIRROR
Ref: TM/152
Published Date: 25-Jan-02
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