SPECIAL BRANCH AND FLANAGAN MUST GO
Special Branch and Flanagan must go
After what can only be described as the shamless and sinister conduct of Special Branch prior to the bombing of Omagh, there can be little doubt in anyone's mind that that organisation does not exist for the public good. If Special Branch did not collude with those who bombed the town and we don't know that they didn't at the very least they had enough information to prevent or minimise the atrocity and they did not act.
Special Branch has been working to a dark and clandestine agenda for many years and has been implicated in many foul deeds, including the murder of Pat Finucane. We could put the fact that they failed to pass on information down to incompetence; we could pretend that when the CID officer honestly and earnestly informed them of a serious threat that they simply misjudged the situation; and we could conclude that their inactions may not have facilitated the bombing of Omagh. But none of that is the truth.
Special Branch knew Omagh was going to be attacked whether with rockets and machine guns or by , other means and they kept that information from the local police and from the public many of whom were slain on August 15,1998.
The security forces are implicated in this affair to the extent that the person who made the bomb which decimated the town is suspected of having been on the payroll of MI5.
There must now be a full and independent inquiry under the auspices of the international community the British.government cannot be trusted in this matter.
Ronnie Flanagan should be immediately removed from his post and an investigation launched into his conduct in the aftermath of the bomb when he failed to leave no stone unturned. Special Branch must be immediately stood down and the senior officers within that organisation investigated with a view to prosecution.
The Secretary of State John Reid made a huge mistake in placing his trust in the Chief Constable, who is also the former head of Special Branch the proper authority and the person behind whom Mr Reid should have rallied was the Police Ombudsman Reid in feigning a disgust at the leaking of the document towards the end of last week avoided dealing with the substantive issues he must now face tough questioning about Special Branch. Does the Secretary of State still back that body does he believe following this damning report that that organisation has integrity? Can the North of Ireland truly have a new beginning to policing if it starts out on the road with a body so disgraced at its centre?
In short, if Mr Reid has been seduced by the securocrats running Special Branch in Northern Ireland, if he is not prepared to act and act quickly on the findings of this report, he must consider his own position.
We may never know why the the bomb was permitted to enter Omagh. Was it to end the peace process, or as the sister of a victim suggested, to 'finish' the troubles? What we do know is that the consequences were horrific. Shame on those who planted the bomb and shame on those who did not act to prevent it!
After what can only be described as the shamless and sinister conduct of Special Branch prior to the bombing of Omagh, there can be little doubt in anyone's mind that that organisation does not exist for the public good. If Special Branch did not collude with those who bombed the town and we don't know that they didn't at the very least they had enough information to prevent or minimise the atrocity and they did not act.
Special Branch has been working to a dark and clandestine agenda for many years and has been implicated in many foul deeds, including the murder of Pat Finucane. We could put the fact that they failed to pass on information down to incompetence; we could pretend that when the CID officer honestly and earnestly informed them of a serious threat that they simply misjudged the situation; and we could conclude that their inactions may not have facilitated the bombing of Omagh. But none of that is the truth.
Special Branch knew Omagh was going to be attacked whether with rockets and machine guns or by , other means and they kept that information from the local police and from the public many of whom were slain on August 15,1998.
The security forces are implicated in this affair to the extent that the person who made the bomb which decimated the town is suspected of having been on the payroll of MI5.
There must now be a full and independent inquiry under the auspices of the international community the British.government cannot be trusted in this matter.
Ronnie Flanagan should be immediately removed from his post and an investigation launched into his conduct in the aftermath of the bomb when he failed to leave no stone unturned. Special Branch must be immediately stood down and the senior officers within that organisation investigated with a view to prosecution.
The Secretary of State John Reid made a huge mistake in placing his trust in the Chief Constable, who is also the former head of Special Branch the proper authority and the person behind whom Mr Reid should have rallied was the Police Ombudsman Reid in feigning a disgust at the leaking of the document towards the end of last week avoided dealing with the substantive issues he must now face tough questioning about Special Branch. Does the Secretary of State still back that body does he believe following this damning report that that organisation has integrity? Can the North of Ireland truly have a new beginning to policing if it starts out on the road with a body so disgraced at its centre?
In short, if Mr Reid has been seduced by the securocrats running Special Branch in Northern Ireland, if he is not prepared to act and act quickly on the findings of this report, he must consider his own position.
We may never know why the the bomb was permitted to enter Omagh. Was it to end the peace process, or as the sister of a victim suggested, to 'finish' the troubles? What we do know is that the consequences were horrific. Shame on those who planted the bomb and shame on those who did not act to prevent it!
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/0886
Published Date: 13-Dec-01
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