No warning received over Omagh bomb, insists Reid

Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid insisted today there was no warning of a bomb in Omagh before the explosion which killed 29 people.

He said the controversial Police Ombudsman’s report into police handling of the atrocity does not say information received ahead of the August 1998 attack could have averted the tragedy.

Dr Reid’s stout defence of police came as it was confirmed the senior RUC officer on duty in Omagh on the day of the bombing had told the families of the victims he would quit his post if they wanted him to go.

Supt James Baxter met some of the relatives last Friday following leaks of the controversial report and, the Police Service of Northern Ireland confirmed, said he would seek a transfer to another area if they had lost confidence in him.

In a personal statement Mr Baxter said: ‘‘I told the families that, if they have any lack of confidence in me as police commander for the area, I will ask the chief constable to move me.

‘‘I will happily go anywhere else, if the families have no confidence in me.’’

But the father of one of those who died said there was not a single voice raised against the divisional commander at the meeting.

Michael Gallagher said: ‘‘Certainly no-one said they wanted him to resign, in fact many of us said we were happy with him and that was not what we wanted.

‘‘I think it is important that people know that - we are certainly not attacking the police, the police on the ground in Omagh worked to the best of their ability on that day.’’

Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan will on Wednesday publish her report into allegations the Special Branch failed to pass on warnings of an impending attack.

She has rejected a request from Police Service Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan for a delay to enable him to respond fully to what he has called ‘‘significant factual inaccuracies, unwarranted assumptions, misunderstandings and material omissions’’ in a draft of the report.

Dr Reid has read the report and, while refusing today to discuss its content, insisted: ‘‘The only matter of substance I am prepared to address is the accusation that there was a warning of a bomb in Omagh.

‘‘There was no such warning, nor does the report - unfinished as it is - say that it is likely that the bomb could have been averted on the information received. There is no such comment.’’

Dr Reid condemned the leak of the report as ‘‘contrary to natural justice, grossly unfair to the police and unfair to the families’’.

He said that the leak had been ‘‘malicious’’ and had ‘‘hindered’’ the purpose of the report, which was to help the authorities find a means of bringing those responsible for the bombing to justice.

Defending the service and its chief constable, the Secretary of State said that within the past month the Police Service of Northern Ireland had thwarted an attempt to plant a 200 pound bomb with the potential to cause carnage on a similar scale to that at Omagh.

Over the past few years a further three or four such planned attacks had been prevented, he added.

He said: ‘‘I have confidence in the chief constable. There is no doubt about that.

‘‘The police force he represents has in the last month stopped a massacre taking place.’’

Dr Reid warned of the danger of a terrorist attack by dissident republicans over the Christmas period.

He said: ‘‘We should always bear in mind who are the guilty parties here - the Real IRA, their callousness, their preparedness to murder and cause mayhem.

‘‘I think we would all be as well to be vigilant in the run-up to Christmas. It is times like that that they want to use the maximum opportunity, when people are out in large numbers.’’

The finished report - most likely without full comment from the Police Service as they did not submit a response to the draft by the deadline on Friday - will be given to the families of the victims and the new Policing Board on Wednesday.

It is expected only a truncated version will be released for public consumption.