Police deny that murder inquests have been ‘leapfrogged’ by Omagh bomb inquiry

Sergeant Joseph Campbell. Picture: Family handout

A senior police officer has denied that long-delayed inquests have been “leapfrogged” as she defended the PSNI decision to divert resources to servicing the Omagh bomb inquiry.

Giving evidence to a coroner in Craigavon, temporary Chief Superintendent Claire McGuigan sought to explain the move to take specialist researchers off inquests into historical cases for a period of six months to instead work on preparing and vetting documents for the public inquiry into the 1998 atrocity in the Co Tyrone town.