BEREAVED DEMAND FULL INQUIRY INTO OMAGH BOMBING
Bereaved demand full inquiry into Omagh bombing
BY ADRIAN MULLAN
THE families of the people killed in the Omagh bomb will never get justice, said Kevin Skelton, who lost his wife Mena in the blast in 1998. Speaking after the only man charged with the bombing Sean Hoey of Jonesborough was cleared of 56 charges in the Crown Court in Belfast on Thursday last, Mr Skelton said that no one would ever be brought to justice for the 'political bombing of Omagh and he called for a full cross-border public inquiry into the bombing.
"We were no one bit surprised at the verdict. The trial from day one was a farce and this has really proved it. The people of Omagh, the relatives and friends of the dead and all of the injured have had their faces rubbed in the muck again by the PSNI or the RUC. Last year it was the Garda Siochana in the Colm Murphy case. When are these people going to get a grip - ten years down the line - and give the people of Omagh what they need a cross border public inquiry. These trials are only a farce
...Norman Baxter and the investigating team, I don't know where they go from here. If I was them I'd hang my head down in shame for what happened in there (the court)."
"It leaves me feeling the way I have always been feeling, if Hoey had gone down it would still be a case of one swallow doesn't make a summer. There is never going to be anyone convicted of the Omagh bombing. It was a political bombing, I have no doubt about that and that has been proved. It's politically incorrect to bring anyone forward.
"Fair play to the defence, they got him off, they done their job, but the police made it easy for them... the police deliberately lied... and the judge as much as said that. What sort of a police service have we got now in the North of Ireland?"
He continued, "I can't stop here, as my dear wife's father always said to me, the RUC is rotten to the core and he was 100% right. I feel very badly let down , no matter what we do as regards Omagh it's threw back in our faces Our local politicians can't even agree on a bit of writing on a stone in the middle of the town. This town wants to bury what happened, put it in the past, draw a line in the sand, don't name people who represented certain communities that were involved in the bomb they want us to forget about it but we are not prepared to do that. We will never get justice, that's my feeling and that's my own opinion, we won't get justice because it's not politically correct."
How those people (the PSNI) thought they would get away with it, is beyond me. Thank God judges are not stupid. Too many people were railroaded before by dodgy evidence. That didn't happen today, but that doesn't mean that that's right, everyone is entitled to a fair trial. The judge was very critical of the police there's no question about that, and we'll probably have to take a look at what legal avenues we can take now to see what action we can take against the police for not doing their job right."
Speaking after the verdict, Lawrence Rush, whose wife Libby died in the explosion, said the case had been handled 'disastrously' by the police. He said he would not have wanted to see the wrong person convicted.
Michael Gallagher, whose son, Aidan was killed in the bombing, said a cross-border inquiry into the bombing should be set up by the British and Irish governments.
"They can no longer refuse to give families such an inquiry. This case has been a disgrace by any standards," he said.
A police statement said; "The Police Service accepts the court's decision to acquit Sean Hoey of all charges against him and expresses its deep regret that the many victims and their relatives have not yet seen anyone made amenable for these crimes. The Service will study Mr Justice Weir's judgement in detail and will work to ensure that any organisational or procedural shortcomings are addressed. We also await the outcome of a Police Ombudsman investigation into two officers who gave evidence during the trial. But our primary focus will continue to be to bring all those responsible for these crimes, most notably the Omagh bombing, before the courts. Our investigations will continue and we would ask anyone with information about these crimes to come forward."
BY ADRIAN MULLAN
THE families of the people killed in the Omagh bomb will never get justice, said Kevin Skelton, who lost his wife Mena in the blast in 1998. Speaking after the only man charged with the bombing Sean Hoey of Jonesborough was cleared of 56 charges in the Crown Court in Belfast on Thursday last, Mr Skelton said that no one would ever be brought to justice for the 'political bombing of Omagh and he called for a full cross-border public inquiry into the bombing.
"We were no one bit surprised at the verdict. The trial from day one was a farce and this has really proved it. The people of Omagh, the relatives and friends of the dead and all of the injured have had their faces rubbed in the muck again by the PSNI or the RUC. Last year it was the Garda Siochana in the Colm Murphy case. When are these people going to get a grip - ten years down the line - and give the people of Omagh what they need a cross border public inquiry. These trials are only a farce
...Norman Baxter and the investigating team, I don't know where they go from here. If I was them I'd hang my head down in shame for what happened in there (the court)."
"It leaves me feeling the way I have always been feeling, if Hoey had gone down it would still be a case of one swallow doesn't make a summer. There is never going to be anyone convicted of the Omagh bombing. It was a political bombing, I have no doubt about that and that has been proved. It's politically incorrect to bring anyone forward.
"Fair play to the defence, they got him off, they done their job, but the police made it easy for them... the police deliberately lied... and the judge as much as said that. What sort of a police service have we got now in the North of Ireland?"
He continued, "I can't stop here, as my dear wife's father always said to me, the RUC is rotten to the core and he was 100% right. I feel very badly let down , no matter what we do as regards Omagh it's threw back in our faces Our local politicians can't even agree on a bit of writing on a stone in the middle of the town. This town wants to bury what happened, put it in the past, draw a line in the sand, don't name people who represented certain communities that were involved in the bomb they want us to forget about it but we are not prepared to do that. We will never get justice, that's my feeling and that's my own opinion, we won't get justice because it's not politically correct."
How those people (the PSNI) thought they would get away with it, is beyond me. Thank God judges are not stupid. Too many people were railroaded before by dodgy evidence. That didn't happen today, but that doesn't mean that that's right, everyone is entitled to a fair trial. The judge was very critical of the police there's no question about that, and we'll probably have to take a look at what legal avenues we can take now to see what action we can take against the police for not doing their job right."
Speaking after the verdict, Lawrence Rush, whose wife Libby died in the explosion, said the case had been handled 'disastrously' by the police. He said he would not have wanted to see the wrong person convicted.
Michael Gallagher, whose son, Aidan was killed in the bombing, said a cross-border inquiry into the bombing should be set up by the British and Irish governments.
"They can no longer refuse to give families such an inquiry. This case has been a disgrace by any standards," he said.
A police statement said; "The Police Service accepts the court's decision to acquit Sean Hoey of all charges against him and expresses its deep regret that the many victims and their relatives have not yet seen anyone made amenable for these crimes. The Service will study Mr Justice Weir's judgement in detail and will work to ensure that any organisational or procedural shortcomings are addressed. We also await the outcome of a Police Ombudsman investigation into two officers who gave evidence during the trial. But our primary focus will continue to be to bring all those responsible for these crimes, most notably the Omagh bombing, before the courts. Our investigations will continue and we would ask anyone with information about these crimes to come forward."
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1915
Published Date: 27-Dec-07
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