'Govt in deal with Omagh bomb group' - TV claim

The Government was tonight alleged to have done a deal with the Real IRA group behind the Omagh bomb outrage to get a ceasefire by the terror group.

The allegation – said to centre on an agreement not to “harass” Real IRA members – was made in a Channel 4 News programme.

It also repeated charges about the extent of possibly vital information in the hands of the Gardai ahead of the 1998 bomb attack on the Co Tyrone town, when 29 people died and more than 200 were injured.

The charges originated from John White, a currently suspended detective sergeant in the Gardai in a Channel 4 News programme.

Coincidentally, it was also confirmed tonight that Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan has had talks in Dublin with members of a commission set up by the Government specifically to investigate the Garda Siochana contribution to inquiries into the Omagh bombing.

She presented documents to the commission in relation to information that had come to light as a result of investigations made by her team – and also believed to centre on claims made by John White.

The suspended officer – who could not appear in tonight’s Channel 4 filmed report because he still a serving Garda – has claimed that in 1998 he was providing his superiors with high-grade information supplied by a Real IRA informer.

Mr White said that details provided by his source led to a number of garda strikes against the Real IRA, including the interception of a car bomb at Dun Laoghaire ferry port in Co Dublin, in April 1998.

He also claimed that days before the Omagh bombing, information he received from this same source about a car being stolen for use in the North, was not passed on to the Royal Ulster Constabulary by their counterparts on the southern side of the border.

The three-strong Dublin commission was established earlier this year after a concerned Ms O’Loan brought the claims to the attention of Foreign Affairs Minister Brian Cowen.

The Garda Siochana tonight rejected the TV allegations that they had information prior to the Omagh massacre as “totally unfounded.”

In a statement the force said the Gardai and the Police Service of Northern Ireland – formerly the RUC – “had, and continue to have, an excellent working protocol in all areas of law enforcement, particularly in-so-far as intelligence on criminal or terrorist activity is concerned.

“Any suggestion to the contrary is ludicrous.

“The allegations are without foundation and appear to emanate from a mischievous source.

“The Commissioner (Garda chief Pat Byrne) is concerned that such unfounded allegations will be a source to any relatives of those tragically killed or injured in Omagh.”

The Channel 4 report followed one on the same news programme last night alleging that the police in Northern Ireland received four warnings of terrorist attacks before the Omagh bomb outrage.

Only one person has been charged and convicted in connection with the bombing, despite widespread police investigations throughout Ireland.

The allegation of a deal was made in briefing document from Mr White that told of the claimed arrangement “with a Government minister,” declaring that “in return for calling a ceasefire, no RIRA members would be harassed or receive undue Garda attention.”

The programme said they had seen documents showing that charges against people arrested after Omagh were “dropped on the orders of the state, without explanations.”

The deal was also claimed to have been confirmed by Mr White’s informant in a covert tape recording made in a car.

There was no immediate response from the Government to the allegations of a deal with the Real IRA.