Omagh Bomb Inquiry: Victim fears Omagh inquiry will blame UK security forces and keep media at bay
A woman whose brother was killed in the Omagh Bomb believes the media is being isolated from public inquiry hearings into it - and thinks it will inevitably blame the British security forces.
Claire Hayes was speaking at the end of the first week of substantive hearings in Omagh into the 1998 bombing.
The Real IRA attack killed 29 people - as well as unborn twins,
Claire's 16-year-old brother Alan Radford was killed, which left her family broken beyond repair.
Speaking at the end of the first of four weeks of hearings in Omagh, Claire was annoyed that the media is not allowed into the inquiry hearings.
Instead they are kept in a room upstairs where they watch a live video feed on a three minute time delay.
The media is subject to a restriction order under section 19 of the Inquiries Act 2005.
This means that "any inadvertent publication of irrelevant and sensitive material" will be redacted and only information from the time-delayed YouTube channel or official transcript can be published.
"There are certain things that will never be known to the public and possibly never known to us," Claire told the News Letter. "So we're only going to get a certain version of it.
"It's the same with the three minute delay in the inquiry process for the media. Why is it there? In case somebody slips up and says something and, 'Oh - you shouldn't have heard that'."
She is also annoyed that the video feed is cut when a witness becomes emotional and asked that it would not be cut for her: "That is my reality."
She added: "For me the whole inquiry is flawed from the outset, because the Irish government is not being compelled to hand over everything that they know. They are just taking a voluntary role."
"It's only the British government, the PSNI / RUC, the British military and MI5 being held accountable."
She noted that the bombmakers are from the south, stole the car they used from the south, planned and executed the bombing from the south and fled there afterwards.
In light of the intense Real IRA activity in 1998, she believes it is inconceivable the Irish authorities were not monitoring the bombers.
Claire has attended many meetings with senior government and police figures on both sides of the border.
She believes the Irish authorities may have had advance knowledge of the bombing and failed to pass it on.
In her view this may explain their reticence to hold their own public inquiry - as urged in the Belfast High Court.
Claire also believes the inquiry will drip feed scrutiny only on the UK security forces.
"They are the only people who have been named and compelled to take part."
She believes the conclusion will be: "Oh, it was them to blame [the UK], It wasn't actually the bombers".
The inquiry was invited to respond to all of Claire's concerns.
A spokeswoman said: “The Inquiry welcomes the commitments given from the Government of Ireland to fully assist our work, and ensure that nothing is left unanswered in the Republic of Ireland.”
“We are currently working with the Government of Ireland to reach an agreement that will ensure collaboration and information sharing from organisations in the Republic of Ireland to the Omagh Bombing Inquiry.
"Both the Inquiry and the Government of Ireland are committed to agreeing such an arrangement as quickly as possible.”