Reform the Special Branch

Foreign Minister Brian Cowen and Northern Secretary Paul Murphy met in Dublin yesterday for talks aimed at helping both governments arrive at a plan to kick-start the Northern peace process again.

Their meeting coincided with the delivery to the North’s Policing Board of a report on the police investigation of the Omagh bombing, a matter which has dogged Taoiseach Bertie Ahern recently. He has confirmed that his one-time special adviser Martin Mansergh had tried to secure a Real IRA ceasefire but that these contacts were made prior to the bombing and there had been no direct Government contact at any time with the paramilitary group. It is understood that the report submitted to the Policing Board is highly critical of the Special Branch’s analysis of information and use of evidence and is understood to recommend changes in the way it operates.

The review was carried out by Britain’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and initiated after a report drawn up by the Police Ombudsman, who had criticised the way the Special Branch had handled warnings given prior to the Omagh bombing. Reform of the Special Branch has been one of the calls made by Sinn Féin in its decision not to take up its seats on the Policing Board.