O'LOAN STANDS BY REPORT
O'Loan stands by report
POLICE Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan and some relatives of the Omagh bomb victims have been thrown into turmoil by the political gloss put on the outcome of the Omagh bomb controversy-After a week when positive - if widely divergent - 'spins' were put on the outcome of the marathon Policing Board deliberations last week, Mrs O'Loan informed the board's chairman Professor Desmond Rea that she does not accept the reported "unanimous" finding that the Omagh bomb could "not have been prevented". The Ombudsman's office has now confirmed to the Ulster Herald that she stands by her report and its finding that it is "'not known" whether the bomb could have been prevented if two prior warnings had been acted upon by the police.
Her assertion will gain added weight with the subsequent disclosure that a third warning was received by MI5 that Omagh would be bombed by Republicans.
Meanwhile, families of the Omagh bomb victims were meeting again last night and are expected to issue a statement today (Thursday) on their collective reaction to the Policing Board decision. Over the past few days, however, it has become obvious that relatives are deeply upset and perturbed that the Policing Board adopted a political recourse of "compromise" rather than accept their stated wishes that the Ombudsman's six recommendations be adopted and implemented. Some relatives said that they had been subjected to intense pressure to row in behind the political manoeuvres to save face for all the main players, notably Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan.
In the political and media reaction to the Policing Board decision, the stark contrast between last Friday's front pages of the two Belfast dailies, the Irish News and the NewsLetter showed that the compromise was cleverly devised to allow opponents to believe that they had won.
A flurry of comments from political leaders sealed the consensus that the Policing Board had dealt with the matter and agreed the way forward.
However, sources among the relatives point out that the six recommendations were set aside; there was no satisfactory explanation for the police bungling to date and no assurance that Special Branch would not continue to hinder full investigation of the bomb and bring the perpetrators to justice.
As the PSNI chief gets set to vacate his office on February 28, he came out publicly in support of the Police Federation's lawsuit against the Ombudsman's Report on the Omagh bomb, saying that the matter could best be decided in a court of law.
POLICE Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan and some relatives of the Omagh bomb victims have been thrown into turmoil by the political gloss put on the outcome of the Omagh bomb controversy-After a week when positive - if widely divergent - 'spins' were put on the outcome of the marathon Policing Board deliberations last week, Mrs O'Loan informed the board's chairman Professor Desmond Rea that she does not accept the reported "unanimous" finding that the Omagh bomb could "not have been prevented". The Ombudsman's office has now confirmed to the Ulster Herald that she stands by her report and its finding that it is "'not known" whether the bomb could have been prevented if two prior warnings had been acted upon by the police.
Her assertion will gain added weight with the subsequent disclosure that a third warning was received by MI5 that Omagh would be bombed by Republicans.
Meanwhile, families of the Omagh bomb victims were meeting again last night and are expected to issue a statement today (Thursday) on their collective reaction to the Policing Board decision. Over the past few days, however, it has become obvious that relatives are deeply upset and perturbed that the Policing Board adopted a political recourse of "compromise" rather than accept their stated wishes that the Ombudsman's six recommendations be adopted and implemented. Some relatives said that they had been subjected to intense pressure to row in behind the political manoeuvres to save face for all the main players, notably Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan.
In the political and media reaction to the Policing Board decision, the stark contrast between last Friday's front pages of the two Belfast dailies, the Irish News and the NewsLetter showed that the compromise was cleverly devised to allow opponents to believe that they had won.
A flurry of comments from political leaders sealed the consensus that the Policing Board had dealt with the matter and agreed the way forward.
However, sources among the relatives point out that the six recommendations were set aside; there was no satisfactory explanation for the police bungling to date and no assurance that Special Branch would not continue to hinder full investigation of the bomb and bring the perpetrators to justice.
As the PSNI chief gets set to vacate his office on February 28, he came out publicly in support of the Police Federation's lawsuit against the Ombudsman's Report on the Omagh bomb, saying that the matter could best be decided in a court of law.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/0959
Published Date: 14-Feb-02
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