'Delay in blast intelligence'
POLICE Special Branch in Northern Ireland were aware of intelligence information on the Omagh bomb soon after the atrocity, the former ombudsman claimed yesterday.
But information was not immediately passed on to investigating officers who spent months combing mobile phone records in the hunt for the Real IRA bombers, ex-police complaints head Nuala O’Loan added.
The perpetrators are believed to have used phones to communicate on their way to Omagh with the device.
Dame Nuala gave evidence to a committee of MPs at Westminster.
“I am satisfied that material was passed to Special Branch,” she said.
She talked about the reaction of secret service monitors.
“It triggered, and I am speculating, that the security services would be alarmed and distressed by the explosion and would immediately decide to search to see if they had anything which would be relevant, anything that had come in in the past hour or so.”
Ms O’Loan told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee investigation opportunities could have been availed of.
She said there was a five-month delay in some cases as detectives combed through all the phone records in the area.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Belfast
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
