‘You will destroy the peace process’: Omagh bomb inquiry hears of pressure on police ombudsman

A FORMER Police Ombudsman has told the Omagh Bombing Inquiry that she was warned she would “destroy the peace process” if she published a highly critical report into the RUC’s investigation of the 1998 Omagh bombing.

Baroness Nuala O’Loan, Northern Ireland’s first Police Ombudsman, told the public inquiry that the then RUC Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, threatened legal action to prevent the publication of her report, which exposed serious failings in the investigation into the atrocity.

The report, published in December 2001, was particularly critical of Sir Ronnie and the force’s then assistant chief constable, concluding that their judgement and leadership had been seriously flawed and that the chances of apprehending and convicting those responsible had been significantly reduced.

Giving evidence at the inquiry in Belfast on Wednesday, Baroness O’Loan described the difficulties her office encountered when attempting to obtain information from the police and the pressure she faced as the report approached publication.

The Omagh bombing, carried out in August 1998, remains the deadliest single attack of the Troubles, killing 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins.

Baroness O’Loan served as Police Ombudsman from 2000 until 2007. During her seven-year tenure, her office was responsible for 21,000 investigations covering 35,000 allegations .

The investigation into the RUC’s handling of the Omagh bombing began after an article published in The Sunday People in July 2001 highlighted serious shortcomings in the police investigation and reported that a warning three days before the bombing had not been acted upon.

Baroness O’Loan said the allegations had the potential to cause significant damage to the integrity of the RUC in relation to the events surrounding the bombing.

She decided that the seriousness of the allegations warranted an investigation, even though no formal complaint had been made.

“It seemed to me that I had a power to investigate without a complaint and it seemed to me that given the gravity of the situation – given the terrible circumstances and the terrible consequences of the Omagh bomb – that I needed to think about investigating,” she told the inquiry

.She described the explosion as “the most grave and exceptional crime in the history of Northern Ireland”.

“Our aim in doing this investigation was A, to provide reassurance if reassurance was possible to the families, and B, to ensure that anything which could be done to facilitate the Omagh investigation in the hope that it would lead to convictions of those who were responsible for it.”

However, she said the investigation was challenging from the outset because of hostility in some quarters towards her decision to use her powers to examine matters relating to the bombing.

The then chief constable was informed of the investigation and initially assured her of the RUC’s “full cooperation”.

Baroness O’Loan said she had expected the investigation to be relatively short, but its scope expanded as further difficulties emerged. Her office became frustrated when requested information was not supplied or was incomplete. She said she was “astonished” to discover that the RUC was conducting an internal review into the investigation without informing her.

“We had asked for all the intelligence and we hadn’t been told about this very significant document,” she said. Her office also experienced difficulties obtaining redacted reports and was denied access to the police computer database.

“It really was profoundly difficult that we were like drawing teeth in terms of getting information out of the police,” she told the inquiry.

As a result, the investigation was widened to examine whether intelligence held by the RUC had been properly disclosed and used by the team investigating the bombing.

The inquiry heard that as the report was completed and prepared for publication, Baroness O’Loan came under pressure to withdraw it. During a meeting with Sir Ronnie at Hillsborough Castle, she said he warned her that publication would have serious consequences.

She recalled him telling her that she was “going to destroy the peace process, my office would never recover”.

The inquiry was also told that Sir Ronnie threatened to take the Police Ombudsman’s Office to a judicial review in an attempt to prevent the report from being published. Despite the pressure, the report was released in December 2001. Among its key findings was that the judgement and leadership of the chief constable and assistant chief constable had been seriously flawed, significantly reducing the prospects of bringing the bombers to justice.

Explaining the conclusion to the inquiry, Baroness O’Loan said the police investigation had been wound down too quickly and had failed to maintain the necessary level of resources and focus.

“The investigation was very quickly wound down by the police, you know? The number of officers involved and the way in which it was conducted – it was flawed. I think that's accepted now,” she said.“

It seemed to me that there was a huge, huge problem there in terms of a fundamental investigation of the biggest tragedy of the Troubles was just left drifting.

”The report also identified significant shortcomings in the receipt, recording, evaluation, handling and dissemination of intelligence information received by the security forces .Among the concerns was the handling of information supplied by an RUC informer known as Kevin Fulton, who had warned his handlers about an imminent bombing.

Baroness O’Loan also highlighted a warning call received by Omagh RUC on August 4, 1998, which referred to an attack in the town on August 15 – the day the bomb exploded. She said police dismissed the warning as a possible dispute among smugglers.

“I think the dismissal of this as a fallout among smugglers, to me, was bizarre and absurd,” she told the inquiry. She questioned why information identifying a specific date for a potential terrorist attack had not prompted action to prevent it.

“If you were involved in a forthcoming terrorist bomb of this kind and you wanted to get it stopped, you might decide that you would provide information which would be specific which would require action, with a specific date – the specific date.“

So you would want the police or military to take some action to prevent it.

”The inquiry also heard that Baroness O’Loan had previously taught law at the University of Ulster, where Sir Ronnie Flanagan had been one of her students. Her evidence has revisited the bitter public fallout between the two in 2001, when her office’s investigation challenged the RUC’s handling of the aftermath of one of the most devastating atrocities of the Troubles.