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A SENIOR JUDGE has been appointed as the chair of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris announced the appointment of Alan Turnbull today.
Heaton-Harris announced that an independent statutory inquiry would be launched to look at the preventability of the blast that devastated the Co Tyrone town.
It came after a High Court judge in Belfast in 2021 recommended that the UK Government should carry out a human rights-compliant investigation into alleged security failures in the lead-up to the attack.
Mr Justice Horner found it was potentially plausible that the bombing could have been prevented.
The inquiry will be established under the Inquiries Act 2005, with full powers, including the power to compel the production of documents and to summon witnesses to give evidence under oath.
Twenty-nine people, including a woman pregnant with twins, were killed when a dissident republican car bomb ripped through Omagh town centre on 15 August, 1998.
Alan Turnbull formerly served in the Scottish High Court and Court of Appeal, and during his career as a barrister he was instructed for the Crown for the Lockerbie Bombing case.
His appointment as chair of the Omagh Inquiry follows a recommendation made by the Lord Chief Justice for England and Wales, in conjunction with his counterparts across the rest of the UK.
Heaton-Harris and Turnbull will take part in a consultation exercise on the proposed Terms of Reference for the inquiry, which the UK government said will be agreed and published in due course.
Heaton-Harris said the inquiry will be “independent and robust in order to establish the truth”.
“Lord Turnbull’s long-standing judicial career and his previous experience of working on terrorism cases will provide the highest levels of knowledge and professionalism,” he said.
“I have no doubt that Lord Turnbull will bring to the Inquiry the required rigour, independence, and impartiality, and I am grateful to him for accepting this important job.”
Turnbull said: “I am honoured to be appointed to chair this important Inquiry. I am very conscious of the devastation brought to the lives of so many by the atrocity which took place in Omagh in August 1998.
“I understand the determination of those who lost family and loved ones, and of those who were themselves injured, or whose family members were injured, to learn whether the attack could have been prevented.
“As soon as is practicable I shall be seeking views from those affected about the Inquiry. Once the Inquiry’s terms of reference are finalised, I shall conduct an independent and robust Inquiry in order to establish the truth.”
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It is probably correct to have a detailed inquiry on this despicable act. As someone who has correctly held the RUC with a high degree of mistrust I hope that this does not unfairly leave a large degree of the responsibility at their door stemming from their actions on the day.
Granted they have questions to answer but the blame for the 30 odd murders lie directly with those who drove that bomb in to the town centre.
SF won’t like this ..
@Ciaran: it was the RIRA that carried out this bombing, a year after officially splitting with the PIRA.
@Ciaran: care to explain how that might be???
@Ciaran: Sf would more than likely be all for it ..
Your FG/FF is showing tuck it away will you
@Ciaran:
they support IRA murderers
@John Mcmahon:
SF would be all for their friends being investigated ?
He is just after appointing Dame Louise Richardson, Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE) to chair the Irish government’s Consultative Forum on International Security Policy. The forum is supposedly being convened to discuss the issue of Irish neutrality or more precisely, how to end it.
Dame Louise who also holds US citizenship is no middle-of-the-road liberal. She is a staunch supporter of American military policies and its wars. Nor is she critical of the old British Empire. While vice chancellor of Oxford University she opposed the removal of the statue of the brutal colonialist Cecil Rhodes.
In the past she has had an interest in Ireland.
@M Bowe: Commenting on the deaths of 10 hunger strikers in 1981 she said, “They starved themselves to death in order to win political prisoner status… The ultimate goal of any war must be to deny the adversary what it is that he wants.”
Yet in spite of all this, Micheál Martin, believes that this woman is suited to chairing a forum exploring the incredibly sensitive and potentially dangerous issue of Irish neutrality. Should we be thankful perhaps that he didn’t invite Derek Wilford who also holds an OBE?
@M Bowe: on the subject of appointments how or why has this appointment and this ladies past political statements not been covered by media on this island???
@M Bowe:
Give us what we want or else ..
the IRA were bullies . Good riddance
No neutrality in the face of Russian evil
@Coc Caled:
No sympathy in the face of IRA evil
@GERARD KENNELLY: are you another weird ‘old IRA good, new IRA bad’ guy?
A senior judge. I didn’t know there were degrees of judging.
@Pato:
a distinguished judge
a veteran
the IRA are animals so we need a veteran
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