UH/0973

Geldof leads galaxy of stars in support of Omagh civil suit
BY ADRIAN MULLAN

Families boost chances of raising £2million for legal action
THE families of the victims of the Omagh bomb hoping to take a private prosecution against those believed to be responsible for the atrocity received a massive injection to their morale when Bob Geldof threw his weight behind the campaign this week.
Founder of the massive Third World aid programme, Live Aid, and one-time singer with punk band, the Boomtown Rats, Geldof's coming on board will be seen as a boon to those families hoping to raise £1.5 million to take the case.
Former World Featherweight boxing Champion and Clones Cyclone Barry McGuigan has also publicly backed the campaign and former Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson and First Minister David Trimble are among those who will provide backing for the civil case.
At the meeting in the Irish Club in central London, Live Aid founder Mr Geldof said he was "appalled" by the lack response to the families' appeal so far.
To date, the families have raised just £500,000 for their legal battle.
They need at least £1 million by the end of April if their civil action is to make it to court, the pop singer said.
Mr Geldof said: "Omagh was without question our September 11. There is no moral difference in any sense.
"I'm appalled by the lack of out-pouring from our two countries, Britain and Ireland.
"When you consider what was donated in cash from Britain and Ireland to the victims of the atrocity in America and what these people have received in pursuit of justice, then it leads us all to shame," he said.
"There are an awful lot of very wealthy Irish people in this country and in Ireland. I can't understand why they can't fund it, I can't understand why people who aren't wealth can't throw a few quid in the pot. Police on both sides of the Border have intimated that they know the identities of the bombers but lack sufficient evidence to secure criminal prosecutions. However, less evidence is required for a Civil Action where a judge would rule on the 'balance of probabilities'.
Some months ago the BBC's Panorama programme, 'Who bombed Omagh?' identified a number people whom it suggested were implicated in the atrocity. It is believed that any civil action will focus on those individuals and several others not publicly named.
In January, Colm Murphy was sentenced to 14 years in jail at the Special Criminal Court in the Republic of Ireland for conspiracy to cause an explosion. To date he has been the only person charged in connection with the attack. Relatives have said "desperation" at the lack of prosecutions has prompted them to pursue the major suspects in the civil courts.
The news that the campaign had secured the support of major celebrities including Maeve Binchy comes as Ronnie Flanagan, leaves the PSNI for the Inspectorate of Constabulary in England. Many of the Omagh families believed that Flanagan failed in his duty as Chief Constable to supervise the inquiry into the bombing. In December the Police Ombudsman reported that some of the prospects for prosecution may have been damaged by the delay in implementing the Omagh Bomb Review Report. The report found damning evidence of a lack or leadership and judgment on the part of the Chief Constable and that as a result of that poor leadership the chances of detaining and convicting the Omagh bombers had been significantly reduced.
The Omagh families pursuing the case have until August, one year after the civil writ was served, to reach its £2 million target to fund the action. So far the campaign has raised just one quarter of the funds needed to proceed.