Chris Heaton-Harris told MPs on Thursday that he intends to establish an independent statutory probe into the circumstances of the Real IRA atrocity that claimed the lives of 29 people, including unborn twins.
Speaking in Parliament, Heaton-Harris said: “I have listened to the representations of these families and taken their varying perspectives into account.
“I have considered important factors such as the independence of any future investigation, the costs to the public purse, and how best to allay wider public concern.
“I have weighed these up against the clear findings set out by the court, which we must meet for any investigation to be effective and compliant with our international obligations, and which are at the core of my decision.”
He added that he intends “to establish an independent statutory inquiry into the Omagh bombing.”
Reacting to the news, Omagh campaigner Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son Aiden was killed in the blast, told The Epoch Times, “It is unbelievable.”
“It’s a huge, huge relief,” he said, adding, “Today my thoughts are with those families who are not getting the news that we are getting.
“This legacy bill that is going through parliament is denying justice to a whole range of victims both here in Northern Ireland and in England.”
Planned changes to the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill have already been rejected by victims’ groups and all of the political parties in Northern Ireland.
Bomb Attack
Twenty-nine people were killed and 220 others injured in the Real IRA bomb that detonated in the centre of the Co Tyrone town on Aug. 15, 1998.No one has ever been convicted over the atrocity, which took place just four months after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.
It remains the deadliest bomb attack to have ever taken place in Northern Ireland’s history.
For years, families of those who lost loved ones in the attack have asked the government whether there was prior security intelligence about the bombing.
At the time, joint MI5 and FBI agent David Rupert had embedded himself inside the Real IRA gang behind the atrocity.
The U.S.-born business owner and security service agent later went on to give State evidence against the then leader of the Real IRA.
Rupert’s 2003 testimony at Dublin’s Special Criminal Court would not only see Michael McKevitt jailed for terror offences but would form the biggest single piece of evidence in the Omagh bomb victims’ lawsuit against four men held legally responsible for the blast.
In 2009, Belfast High Court found McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy, and Seamus Daly liable for the attack.
Omagh bomb relatives were awarded more than £1.6 million in damages for the attack.
Speaking to The Epoch Times from his U.S. home on Wednesday, former MI5/FBI agent David Rupert welcomed the Omagh inquiry announcement.
“I think the Omagh people should be given a complete accounting of the events leading to the bomb and why it was so deadly,” he said.
“I know of nothing nefarious by any security organisations and was told directly by a dissident IRA leader involved that it wasn’t an operation gone wrong by pure ineptness of the cell committing the horrible act.”
‘Final Report’
Heaton-Harris said the inquiry will “focus on the four grounds, which the court held, as giving rise to plausible arguments that the bombing could have been prevented.”He added: “The inquiry will involve the next of kin and will be open to public scrutiny where possible.
“This will of course, need to be balanced against national security considerations. And it’s important to note that there will be some material, which will not be able to be examined in public.
“A final report will be published which will respond to each of the issues identified by the High Court.”
The MP said it was not in his power to order a “cross-border investigation” into the atrocity.
However, he would remain in “close contact” with the Irish government on the issue.
Welcoming the announcement, Shadow Secretary of State Peter Kyle paid tribute to the families who have long campaigned for justice.
However, he said the Secretary of State’s calling for the inquiry “does clash” with the government’s “overall approach to legacy issues.”
He told the Commons: “The Secretary of State has put Omagh families at the heart of today’s decision.
“I’m worried that other victims of atrocities during the Troubles, will be watching and wondering why their loved ones are not being treated in a similar way.
Kyle added: “A seesaw approach to policy isn’t healthy in any circumstances, but least of all when dealing with the sensitivities of Northern Ireland’s past.”
