Omagh bombing: Politicians react to High Court ruling
Omagh #Omagh
image copyrightPA Media/ MoD image captionMichael Gallagher, whose son Aiden died in the bomb, has called for a full public inquiry into the atrocity
Politicians have been reacting to a high court judge ruling that said it is plausible there was a real prospect the 1998 Omagh bombing could have been prevented.
The case was brought by Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was one of the victims of the bombing.
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis
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In a statement, Mr Lewis said “the Omagh bombing was a terrible atrocity that caused untold damage to the families of the 29 people who were tragically killed and the 220 who were injured”.
“We recognise that today the court has set out that there are ‘plausible allegations that there was a real prospect of preventing the Omagh bombing’ and that more should be done to investigate this,” he added.
“The UK Government will take time to consider the judge’s statement and all its recommendations carefully as we wait for the full judgment to be published.”
Irish Prime Minister, Micheál Martin
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The taoiseach (Irish prime minister) said “there is an obligation on governments to examine what could have been done, if anything could have been done to prevent the atrocity, with a view to inform future practice”.
Mr Martin added that “evil people” carried out the 1998 attack which he described as “absolutely reckless, appalling and gave such heartache”.
“We’re going to analyse the judgement and do what is necessary in terms of the citizens on the island of Ireland.”
Sinn Féin West Tyrone MP, Órfhlaith Begley
Ms Begley said the High Court’s finding would “undoubtedly add to the distress of the families and leave them with further questions”.
“That is why it is vital that the British government act on the judge’s recommendation and immediately move to announce a full, human rights compliant investigation into the exact circumstances of what happened.
“Grieving families should not have to face any further delays or face any more obstacles when it comes to finding out the truth about the deaths of their loved ones,” added the West Tyrone Member of Parliament (MP).
Daniel McCrossan SDLP MLA
Daniel McCrossan of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) welcomed the judgement and added his backing to calls for a public inquiry into the atrocity.
“Families still have many unanswered questions and have been let down by the justice system time and time again,” said the member of the legislative assembly (MLA) for West Tyrone .
“They have the right to know if their loved ones’ deaths could have been prevented if greater police and army action was taken against the paramilitaries involved.
“There can be no more excuses, the truth must be heard and justice must be done.”
Mike Nesbitt, Ulster Unionist Party
Ulster Unionist MLA and former Ulster Television (UTV) journalist, Mike Nesbitt, tweeted that his “thoughts are with the victims and survivors” following Friday’s judgement.
I shall never forget the feeling as I drove into Omagh after the 1998 bombing. Journalists are supposed to be dispassionate but it was not possible that day. Thoughts are with the victims and survivors as Justice Horner makes his ruling
— Mike Nesbitt (@mikenesbittni) July 23, 2021 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter
Mr Nesbitt wrote: “I will never forget the feeling as I drove into Omagh after the 1998 bombing.
“Journalists are supposed to be dispassionate but it was not possible that day.”