Ombudsman arrives for Police Board meeting

Northern Ireland’s Policing Board was today under new pressure to place an outside officer in charge of the Omagh Bomb investigation.

Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan urged the scrutinising body to enforce the key recommendation contained in her scathing report on how the probe into the Real IRA atrocity has been handled so far.

The ombudsman and the North's chief constable Ronnie Flanagan were today holding separate meetings with the board at its Belfast headquarters in a bid to end the fierce row which has erupted between the pair.

As she arrived for a scheduled two-hour meeting with the 19-member body Mrs O’Loan made no comment.

In her report she had accused Mr Flanagan of defective and flawed leadership and alleged a litany of errors had seriously undermined the chances of catching the dissident republican terror gang responsible for the August 1998 attack on the Co Tyrone town which killed 29 people.

The ombudsman had insisted that an outside officer should be drafted in to head up the inquiry.

But in a furious rebuttal of her claims the chief constable last month rejected her call.

When he meets the board later today, Mr Flanagan is expected to reiterate his view that the current senior investigating officer, Detective Superintendent Brian McArthur should remain in overall charge of the inquiry.

The Northern Ireland police chief instead has announced plans to bring in a top detective from Merseyside in an advisory role to ‘‘quality assure’’ the investigation.

In what has become a defining moment for the Policing Board, whose membership includes political representatives from both unionist and nationalist parties, it must broker a compromise which will end the bitter exchange.

Mrs O’Loan was accompanied by Dave Wood, director of her office’s investigations and a former commander in the Metropolitan Police and Martin Bridger, the deputy director of investigations.

After giving a presentation, the ombudsman will field questions from members of the board.