PROBE INTO CLAIM ON OMAGH BOMB NEARS ITS CONCLUSION
Probe into claim on Omagh bomb nears its conclusion
BY JOHN McCUSKER
POLICE Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan is expected to announce within weeks the findings of an investigation into claims by a double agent that information passed on by him could have thwarted the Omagh bombing.
A top-level probe was launched last August following allegations that the agent who uses the pseudonym 'Kevin Fulton' - tipped off his police handlers that a Real IRA bomb was being assembled just days before the August 1998 attack.
Claims that the RUC ignored the informer's tip-off in order to protect Special Branch interests were later denied by RUC Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan.
This week; a spokesman at the Police Ombudsman's office told the UlsterHerald that a ruling was expected to be made "within a matter of weeks."
The spokesman said "The matter is still under investigation arid the findings are expected to be released towards the end of this month.
Investigating officers have been making steady progress on the case and are now near to reaching a decision.
"Throughout the probe we have been keeping the Omagh families abreast of our progress and we will be speaking to them prior to the release date."
It is believed that members of the Police Ombudsman's team interviewed Fulton at length as part of their probe into the allegations.
The matter first came to light last July following reports in the Sunday People newspaper that the former British security forces agent, known as The Mole, called his RUC handlers three days before the blast claiming knowledge that a bombing mission was being planned.
However, Fulton has denied that he was aware that Omagh was the destination.
In a follow-up interview he said, "Did I know specifically that a bomb was going to go off in Omagh? No, I didn't. Did I give the RUC intelligence that the Real IRA was making a major bomb? Yes, they did have that information."
Fulton claimed he passed on the identity of the man who assembled the bomb and the registration number of the vehicle which was to be used to transport it. He also alleged that the RUC had "48 hours head start" and he believed something could have been done to prevent the carnage.
Following the revelations Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan launched a high-level investigation into issues raised of whether the police received warnings or whether any information received was appropriately dealt with.
A report in last weekend's Sunday Business Post listed what it describes as the double agent's "extremely chequered history." The paper also questioned Fulton's claims that he was out of the country at the time of the Omagh attack.
Fulton himself claims to be a former IRA member from Newry who infiltrated the Republican organisation on behalf of the British Army's Force Research Unit. Part of his duties involved passing top-level information to his handlers within the security services.
He claims to have had detailed knowledge of the bomb which was prepared in the week leading up to the explosion in Omagh which claimed the lives of 29 people and unborn twins.
Fulton also claimed he was in the Canary Islands when the Vauxhall Cavalier packed with explosives was abandoned in Market Street.
However, the newspaper report alleges that sources placed him in Newry at the time of the blast and it is understood that he returned from Tenerife two days before the August 15th attack.
Micheal Gallagher, whose son Adrian died in the blast and who is chairman of the Omagh Self Help Group, said families would be keeping a close eye on the outcome of the probe.
He said "We will be watching the results of the enquiry with interest and following the announcement the group will meet to decide if any action is to be taken.
"This is the first time the Police Ombudsman has initiated an enquiry without being asked to. We didn't request any probe and neither did the police nor the person at the centre of these allegations.
"It is important to note that Mrs O'Loan believed the enquiry was in the public interest and moved to launch it on her own initiative."
BY JOHN McCUSKER
POLICE Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan is expected to announce within weeks the findings of an investigation into claims by a double agent that information passed on by him could have thwarted the Omagh bombing.
A top-level probe was launched last August following allegations that the agent who uses the pseudonym 'Kevin Fulton' - tipped off his police handlers that a Real IRA bomb was being assembled just days before the August 1998 attack.
Claims that the RUC ignored the informer's tip-off in order to protect Special Branch interests were later denied by RUC Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan.
This week; a spokesman at the Police Ombudsman's office told the UlsterHerald that a ruling was expected to be made "within a matter of weeks."
The spokesman said "The matter is still under investigation arid the findings are expected to be released towards the end of this month.
Investigating officers have been making steady progress on the case and are now near to reaching a decision.
"Throughout the probe we have been keeping the Omagh families abreast of our progress and we will be speaking to them prior to the release date."
It is believed that members of the Police Ombudsman's team interviewed Fulton at length as part of their probe into the allegations.
The matter first came to light last July following reports in the Sunday People newspaper that the former British security forces agent, known as The Mole, called his RUC handlers three days before the blast claiming knowledge that a bombing mission was being planned.
However, Fulton has denied that he was aware that Omagh was the destination.
In a follow-up interview he said, "Did I know specifically that a bomb was going to go off in Omagh? No, I didn't. Did I give the RUC intelligence that the Real IRA was making a major bomb? Yes, they did have that information."
Fulton claimed he passed on the identity of the man who assembled the bomb and the registration number of the vehicle which was to be used to transport it. He also alleged that the RUC had "48 hours head start" and he believed something could have been done to prevent the carnage.
Following the revelations Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan launched a high-level investigation into issues raised of whether the police received warnings or whether any information received was appropriately dealt with.
A report in last weekend's Sunday Business Post listed what it describes as the double agent's "extremely chequered history." The paper also questioned Fulton's claims that he was out of the country at the time of the Omagh attack.
Fulton himself claims to be a former IRA member from Newry who infiltrated the Republican organisation on behalf of the British Army's Force Research Unit. Part of his duties involved passing top-level information to his handlers within the security services.
He claims to have had detailed knowledge of the bomb which was prepared in the week leading up to the explosion in Omagh which claimed the lives of 29 people and unborn twins.
Fulton also claimed he was in the Canary Islands when the Vauxhall Cavalier packed with explosives was abandoned in Market Street.
However, the newspaper report alleges that sources placed him in Newry at the time of the blast and it is understood that he returned from Tenerife two days before the August 15th attack.
Micheal Gallagher, whose son Adrian died in the blast and who is chairman of the Omagh Self Help Group, said families would be keeping a close eye on the outcome of the probe.
He said "We will be watching the results of the enquiry with interest and following the announcement the group will meet to decide if any action is to be taken.
"This is the first time the Police Ombudsman has initiated an enquiry without being asked to. We didn't request any probe and neither did the police nor the person at the centre of these allegations.
"It is important to note that Mrs O'Loan believed the enquiry was in the public interest and moved to launch it on her own initiative."
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/0856
Published Date: 08-Nov-01
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