Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

29 people were killed in the explosion. PA Wire/Press Association Images
Special Branch

Intelligence on Real IRA Omagh bomb was 'withheld from police'

But the information could not have prevented the attack according to a new report.

THE RUC SPECIAL Branch withheld information from officers investigating the Omagh Bomb, according to a report from the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman.

The report found however that there was no intelligence available to police which, if acted upon, could have prevented the attack.

The Real IRA car bomb killed 29 people and two unborn children when it exploded in the Tyrone town on 15 August 1998.

Ombudsman Dr Michael Maguire found that phone numbers were not passed on from the Special Branch to investigators at the initial stages of the investigation, hampering it.

The report outlined that the Special Branch did not pass on this information because it believed the evidence was inadmissible and doing so risked jeopardising the credibility of the Omagh investigation.

The Ombudsman was “satisfied” that the reason for not passing on the information was based on a “reasonable understanding” of the law.

The report noted that neither this investigation nor an earlier 2001 probe found that there was intelligence available that could have prevented the attack.

Read the report in full >

Pics: Remembering the Omagh bomb that killed 29 people 15 years ago today >

Read: Man charged with Omagh bombing >

Your Voice
Readers Comments
51
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.