OMAGH FAMILIES TO FACE MEETING PRIME MINISTER
Omagh families to face meeting Prime Minister
BY ROSETTA DONNELLY
FAMILIES of some of the victims of the Omagh bombing were yesterday gearing up for a very important first meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The meeting at 10 Downing Street is due to take place tomorrow, Tuesday, and six representatives led by the chairman of the group, Michael Gallagher, will be calling for a cross-border public inquiry into the bomb atrocity.
The delegation includes Michael Gallagher, Marion Radford, Godfrey Wilson, Billy Jameson and project leader Sharon Watters.
Speaking to the Tyrone Herald, Mr Gallagher said that they would be making a presentation to the PM, after which they were hoping to receive a commitment that he would grant a public inquiry.
"I realise that a public inquiry cannot take place until after all the criminal and civil cases are dealt with but what we want is an undertaking from Mr Blair that a PI will take place.
He said he expected the meeting to be positive and not full of recriminations. "We will be going with something definite to say. We will not be paying homage to Mr Blair but neither will we be admonishing him".
Meanwhile a Court of Appeal in Belfast has rejected an application to have the �15m bomb compensation case dismissed - a move which has pleased Mr Gallagher.
Two defendants - Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly - claimed alleged irregularities by solicitors representing the families meant it should be thrown out.
Earlier this year Mr Justice Morgan dismissed an application by Murphy and Daly to strike out the claim and Friday's decision upheld that.
The Lord Chief Justice, Sir Brian Kerr, said one of the grounds advanced on behalf of Murphy and Daly, two of the five defendants, was that the writ did not comply with court rules because the London legal firm of H20 had no business address within Northern Ireland.
Sir Brian said a Belfast firm of solicitors had agreed to allow their offices to be used as an address for service but were unwilling to be named as agents of the plaintiffs' solicitors for security reasons.
He said that if a local address was necessary, "we consider that the circumstances of the case justify our refusal to set aside the proceedings on account of that irregularity".
Sir Brian added, "Because of the nature of the case the plaintiffs have found it impossible to engage solicitors in Northern Ireland.
"To require the present solicitors to establish business premises here simply to secure technical compliance with the rules would not be in the interests of justice."
BY ROSETTA DONNELLY
FAMILIES of some of the victims of the Omagh bombing were yesterday gearing up for a very important first meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The meeting at 10 Downing Street is due to take place tomorrow, Tuesday, and six representatives led by the chairman of the group, Michael Gallagher, will be calling for a cross-border public inquiry into the bomb atrocity.
The delegation includes Michael Gallagher, Marion Radford, Godfrey Wilson, Billy Jameson and project leader Sharon Watters.
Speaking to the Tyrone Herald, Mr Gallagher said that they would be making a presentation to the PM, after which they were hoping to receive a commitment that he would grant a public inquiry.
"I realise that a public inquiry cannot take place until after all the criminal and civil cases are dealt with but what we want is an undertaking from Mr Blair that a PI will take place.
He said he expected the meeting to be positive and not full of recriminations. "We will be going with something definite to say. We will not be paying homage to Mr Blair but neither will we be admonishing him".
Meanwhile a Court of Appeal in Belfast has rejected an application to have the �15m bomb compensation case dismissed - a move which has pleased Mr Gallagher.
Two defendants - Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly - claimed alleged irregularities by solicitors representing the families meant it should be thrown out.
Earlier this year Mr Justice Morgan dismissed an application by Murphy and Daly to strike out the claim and Friday's decision upheld that.
The Lord Chief Justice, Sir Brian Kerr, said one of the grounds advanced on behalf of Murphy and Daly, two of the five defendants, was that the writ did not comply with court rules because the London legal firm of H20 had no business address within Northern Ireland.
Sir Brian said a Belfast firm of solicitors had agreed to allow their offices to be used as an address for service but were unwilling to be named as agents of the plaintiffs' solicitors for security reasons.
He said that if a local address was necessary, "we consider that the circumstances of the case justify our refusal to set aside the proceedings on account of that irregularity".
Sir Brian added, "Because of the nature of the case the plaintiffs have found it impossible to engage solicitors in Northern Ireland.
"To require the present solicitors to establish business premises here simply to secure technical compliance with the rules would not be in the interests of justice."
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE HERALD
Ref: TYH/027
Published Date: 28-Nov-05
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