SDLP apologises to Omagh bomb victims for backing motion opposing extradition of man found liable for the worst atrocity of the Troubles

Unionists had reacted with fury after Fermanagh and Omagh Council had backed a motion opposing the extradition of Liam Campbell.

After a legal battle lasting nearly 12 years the High Court in Dublin ordered the extradition of Campbell last month to Lithuania where he is wanted on international weapons trafficking charges.

Campbell (58) was arrested in Upper Faughart, Dundalk, Co Louth on December 2, 2016, on foot of the second European Arrest Warrant.

Last night councillors at Fermanagh and Omagh Council pased a motion opposing the extradition. The proposal by independent Councillor Bernice Swift was passed at a meeting of Policy & Resources Committee.

The motion expressed concerns that Campbell’s human rights would be breached by the poor prison conditions in Lithuania. It called for concerns to be raised with Taoiseach Micheal Martin. The motion will now go to full council to be ratified.

The SDLP had backed the motion, but now says it will oppose it when it comes to full council.

SDLP Fermanagh and Omagh Council Group Leader Mary Garrity said: “The decision to support this motion at a Fermanagh and Omagh District Council committee meeting was wrong. I acknowledge the pain and hurt the decision has caused this morning, particularly to the Omagh bomb families and I want to apologise unreservedly.

“When the matter comes before the full council for ratification, SDLP councillors will oppose the motion.

“The SDLP has opposed violence and the perpetrators of violence for fifty years, it was never our intention to cause additional hurt to victims and as a council group, we regret that.”

The motion had already been angrily condemned by both the DUP and the UUP

A statement from the DUP grouping on the council said: “We are truly sickened, angry and upset that this deplorable proposal was passed by SF, SDLP and some independent councillors.

“Any support of Liam Campbell is not in our name and was forthrightly opposed by our party during the meeting.

“The Omagh Bomb was one of the worst atrocities in Northern Ireland, killing 29 innocent people and two unborn children. Human rights were completely disregarded on that day in August 1998, yet tonight’s proposal was brought forward to protect Mr Campbell’s human rights. It is truly sickening and upsetting.”

Omagh Ulster Unionist Councillor Chris Smyth, who is also Chair of Fermanagh & Omagh District Council, said the passing of the motion made him feel “physically sick”.

He added: “This nauseating proposal referred to the human rights of Liam Campbell but paid no regard to the rights of the 29 people and two unborn children who were murdered on the streets of Omagh in 1998. I thought the rights of our citizens would have been the primary concern of the council which covers the Omagh area.

“In the middle of a pandemic, I simply cannot understand what has possessed the members of the council who thought it appropriate to lobby on behalf of Mr Campbell when the victims of the bomb still go without proper justice.

“The proposal has asked that ‘the council’ writes to the Taoiseach to voice its opposition to the extradition. For the avoidance of doubt, it will be a cold day in hell before I put my name to such a letter.”

In 2009 Campbell was found liable, along with convicted Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt, for the Omagh bombing.

That ruling followed a landmark civil action brought by relatives of some of the 29 people killed in the August 1998 atrocity.

According to the judge at the time there was cogent evidence that Mr Campbell was a member of the Real IRA’s Army Council.