Relatives Of Omagh Bombing Victims To Sue PSNI Chief

Relatives of the 1998 Omagh bombing victims are to sue the Chief Constable of the PSNI over failings in the police investigation.

Next week marks the 19th anniversary since the Real IRA attack, which claimed the lives of 29 people.

Relatives of the those who died in the atrocity have issued a writ against George Hamilton seeking damages and a declaration that their human rights have been breached.

The writ focuses on what happened after the bomb detonated on 15 August 1998 and why no one has been successfully convicted in a criminal court.

The latest court action has been issued against Mr Hamilton because he has legal responsibility for the actions of both his service and its predecessor, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).

The action is issued in Gallagher's name on behalf of bereaved families belonging to the Omagh Support and Self Help Group.

It cites the damning findings of official inquiries and court proceedings that identified multiple failures in how police investigated the bombing.

These include:

• A 2001 report by the police ombudsman at the time, Nuala O'Loan, found many evidential opportunities were missed and expressed concern that warnings of a likely attack passed to police by informants were not acted upon.

• When acquitting Sean Hoey, an electrician from South Armagh, of the Omagh murders in 2007, the trial judge, Mr Justice Weir, heavily criticised the way forensic evidence had been dealt with.

• A 2014 report by the current police ombudsman, Dr Michael Maguire, highlighted inexplicable delays in arresting known suspects in the days after the attack. He also found that key intelligence was not disseminated from RUC special branch to detectives on the ground.

• Fatal flaws in state evidence exposed when the prosecution of Seamus Daly, a bricklayer from South Armagh, for the Omagh murders was dropped before it reached trial last year.

(CD/LM)