MISSING POLICE BOOK ADDS TO OMAGH BOMB PROBE CONCERNS
Missing police book adds to Omagh bomb probe concerns
BY JOHN McCUSKER
A BOOK detailing paramilitary threats vanished from Omagh police station at the height of inquiries into the RUC investigation of the Market Street bombing atrocity, it has emerged.
The embarrassing disclosure came as Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan prepared to outline his response to Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan's criticism of the mishandling of the bomb investigation to Omagh bomb relatives.
The book disappeared after senior officers were quizzed about warnings in advance of the Real IRA atrocity. The book, which recorded details of threatened terrorist strikes passed on to the police at Omagh, disappeared from the top drawer of a high ranking officer's desk at the town's police station.
It was reported missing during attempts to piece together the sequence of events and level of contact between Special Branch, CID and uniformed officers in the weeks and months prior to the August 1998 bombing.
The disappearance of the book was recorded in Mrs O'Loan's full report into the investigation which was given to Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid, the Chief Constable and the new policing board. It was not, however, detailed in the summary report given to relatives just before Christmas.
The book's mysterious disappearance has never been fully explained.
The Police Ombudsman wished to examine the record book to establish how many threats had been received, to assess their importance and to study what action, if any, had been ordered as a response.
A spokesman for the Ombudsman's office said: "There are a number of issues in the full report which it was not felt appropriate should be made public at that stage."
It is understood that the hardback book had been stored in the top drawer of a senior officer's desk at Omagh police station.
Members of the Police Ombudsman's office who were investigating the RUC inquiry into the attack asked to view the book in September last year. But they were informed that it had gone missing. Sources said they believed it disappeared in August 2000 when the RUC was carrying out its internal review of how police dealt with the inquiry.
Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son Adrian was among those killed, said he was flabbergasted at the revelations.
He added: "It seems extraordinary that a book of this importance can disappear in a controlled environment of a police station."
SDLP Assembly member and Policing Board member, Joe Byrne said the revelation was disturbing.
"At its worst it is further confirmation of inadequate management practices within the police. It gives rise to questions as to what certain elements within the police have done or failed to do in relation to Omagh," he added.
The matter is expected to be raised when families come face-to-face with the Chief Constable and other senior PSNI figures in Omagh this morning. Ronnie Flanagan is to deliver his response to the stinging criticism of his leadership over Omagh by the Ombudsman.
Eleven days before the Omagh attack, RUC Special Branch was tipped off about a planned attack on the town by republican dissidents.
But the information was not passed on to senior commanders on the ground and, therefore, would not have been contained in the threat book.
BY JOHN McCUSKER
A BOOK detailing paramilitary threats vanished from Omagh police station at the height of inquiries into the RUC investigation of the Market Street bombing atrocity, it has emerged.
The embarrassing disclosure came as Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan prepared to outline his response to Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan's criticism of the mishandling of the bomb investigation to Omagh bomb relatives.
The book disappeared after senior officers were quizzed about warnings in advance of the Real IRA atrocity. The book, which recorded details of threatened terrorist strikes passed on to the police at Omagh, disappeared from the top drawer of a high ranking officer's desk at the town's police station.
It was reported missing during attempts to piece together the sequence of events and level of contact between Special Branch, CID and uniformed officers in the weeks and months prior to the August 1998 bombing.
The disappearance of the book was recorded in Mrs O'Loan's full report into the investigation which was given to Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid, the Chief Constable and the new policing board. It was not, however, detailed in the summary report given to relatives just before Christmas.
The book's mysterious disappearance has never been fully explained.
The Police Ombudsman wished to examine the record book to establish how many threats had been received, to assess their importance and to study what action, if any, had been ordered as a response.
A spokesman for the Ombudsman's office said: "There are a number of issues in the full report which it was not felt appropriate should be made public at that stage."
It is understood that the hardback book had been stored in the top drawer of a senior officer's desk at Omagh police station.
Members of the Police Ombudsman's office who were investigating the RUC inquiry into the attack asked to view the book in September last year. But they were informed that it had gone missing. Sources said they believed it disappeared in August 2000 when the RUC was carrying out its internal review of how police dealt with the inquiry.
Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son Adrian was among those killed, said he was flabbergasted at the revelations.
He added: "It seems extraordinary that a book of this importance can disappear in a controlled environment of a police station."
SDLP Assembly member and Policing Board member, Joe Byrne said the revelation was disturbing.
"At its worst it is further confirmation of inadequate management practices within the police. It gives rise to questions as to what certain elements within the police have done or failed to do in relation to Omagh," he added.
The matter is expected to be raised when families come face-to-face with the Chief Constable and other senior PSNI figures in Omagh this morning. Ronnie Flanagan is to deliver his response to the stinging criticism of his leadership over Omagh by the Ombudsman.
Eleven days before the Omagh attack, RUC Special Branch was tipped off about a planned attack on the town by republican dissidents.
But the information was not passed on to senior commanders on the ground and, therefore, would not have been contained in the threat book.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/0931
Published Date: 24-Jan-02
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