The Omagh Bombing Inquiry is examining whether the single worst atrocity of the Troubles could have been prevented
Twenty-nine people, including a woman expecting twins, were murdered in the Real IRA attack on 15 August 1998
This is the fourth week of hearings
"During the 16 August, I attempted to visit as many of the bereaved homes as possible to pay my personal respects and offer whatever assistance I could."
After visiting several homes, Mr Baxter said he "found this to be the most difficult and emotional duty of my career".
Families were "devastated" by their loss in "such a horrific manner".
Mr Baxter says alongside his operational responsibilities there was a "clamour for information from the media".
He says this was "at times overwhelming".
He says there were requests from political figures to visit the scene which "seemed never-ending" and "severely stretched my resources".
Within the mortuary, Mr Baxter says one of the bodies was waiting formal identification by a family member.
"I was made aware of the identity of the deceased," he says.
"And I realised that the family were personal friends and known to me, which caused me considerable distress."
"Over the following hours, I was devastated to learn the numbers of those injured and the numbers of fatalities" many were "known to me personally".
Later that evening Mr Baxter learned that his son's girlfriend had also died in the explosion.
He phoned his wife and asked her to break the news to their son.
Mr Baxter says he had to "display leadership" to officers who were "severely emotionally impacted".
He says that officers were undertaking "harrowing activities" including recovering bodies at the scene, assisting the injured and supporting relatives of the deceased.
Mr Baxter says he was made aware that a gym at a nearby military barracks was being used a temporary mortuary as part of the major incident plan.
He says he made his way to the barracks where the deceased had been laid out in rows.
He says this sight was "very distressing".
He says he then inspected the room set aside for families of the victims from which families would be taken to conduct formal identification of their loved ones.
Mr Baxter then went to Omagh leisure centre which was being used as a waiting area and an information centre for relatives of the injured.
Upon arrival, he says: "I witnessed the raw emotion of scores of people trying to get information about relatives who were reported as missing."
He describes the people here as being in a "very distressed state".
He says that when he arrived at the scene he was briefed on the number of people who had died.
He says that he was told that the bodies of the deceased had been moved into an alleyway and an adjacent shop.
Mr Baxter says that he heard a radio news bulletin that the bomb had exploded.
He said preliminary reports "indicated several causalities".
He said he attempted to contact the control room in the Omagh RUC station but was unable to do so.
He made his way to Omagh, he heard news flashes on the radio that indicated there were several fatalities.
Image source, Omagh Bombing InquiryJames Baxter
On the day of the bomb, Mr Baxter was off duty and visiting Bangor with his wife.
He received a warning about the bomb scare in Omagh, and advised an evacuation.
The inquiry hearings are now underway for the day. You can now follow along by clicking on the Watch Live button at the top of the page.
Today we will be hearing from a number of police officers involved in the response to the bombing.
The first former officer that we are going to hear from is James Baxter, the Royal Ulster Constabulary commander in Omagh when the bomb exploded.
Good morning, and welcome back to BBC News NI's live coverage of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry.
The public inquiry was set up by the government to examine whether the 1998 explosion could have been prevented by the UK authorities.
This is the final week of this phase of the inquiry.
Twenty-nine people, including a woman expecting twins, were murdered in the Real IRA attack on 15 August 1998.
During the inquiry, we have heard commemorations of victims of the Omagh bombing as well as accounts from witnesses, first responders and people who were injured.
Today we are expected to hear from:
The inquiry is due to begin at 9:30 GMT.
Jake Wood
BBC News NI
That's our live coverage finished for the day. We'll start up again tomorrow morning when the inquiry resumes at 09:30 GMT. Join us then.
Today's live page was written by Jake Wood and Jake Liggett, and edited by Conor Neeson.
Thanks for joining us.
He says that his family have been let down by a poor police investigation, he says that in his view Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan fell “well short of the mark”.
Mr Barker says his son was “robbed” of his bright and happy future.
“I sometimes doubt whether he has the same human rights as the terrorists,” he adds.
He says that we must remember “pain has no nationality or borders but neither does the love of the human heart”.
Mr Barker says his son's life was "full of promise despite the learning difficulties that he had".
"He was a very fun loving child."
Mr Barker says: "Like the thousands of others who have lost loved ones in the Troubles, I have dark moments.
"But I have done all I can to bring some kind of justice for James."
Mr Barker says his son had his "life taken away from him in the most evil and barbaric fashion".
Mr Barker tells the inquiry about his son's wake.
“I believe over a thousand people visited the house," he says.
He says the funeral was almost like “a state funeral”.
“There was no privacy, and total lack of control for us as a family,” he adds.
He says there seemed to be no doubt or discussion about his son's final resting place.
Mr Barker says that later he received permission to take James' body back to England, he is now buried at the private cemetery at St George's College.
He recalls picking up a copy of the Mail on Sunday, which had a picture of James on a stretcher on the front page.
“I recall saying to my friends, 'look what they’ve done to my lovely boy', and I simply broke down,” he says.
Mr Barker says that this was the start of the publicity with “no privacy afforded”.
He adds “the next week was a haze”.
Mr Barker described how a Spanish student who was staying with the Barker family at the time was admitted to a hospital in Belfast.
"I felt immediate guilt, as her parents had left her in our care."
As well as identifying the body of his son, Mr Barker also had to identify the body of the brother of the Spanish student.
Upon their return home to Buncrana, Mr Baker describes having to break the news to his daughter who was "naturally distraught".
"I do not believe she has ever recovered from the feelings of guilt, that she should have been in Omagh, and not her brother James," he says.
Mr Barker tells the inquiry that he rang around hospitals to see if he could find out about his son before he knew there had been a bomb.
He says he received a telephone call at 10pm to tell him something serious had happened that was “linked to a bomb”.
He says they were later told to go to the Omagh leisure centre but took three wrong turns on the way.
When they arrived he says his wife was taken to a room which he now knows was for families of the deceased victims.
Mr Barker says he was asked what “identifying marks James had on his body”.
He says that he was taken to a temporary mortuary at an Army barracks and at this moment he knew James "was not in hospital".
It was here that they had to identify James body.
Mr Barker says how the Good Friday Agreement felt like a promise of peace and the end of the Troubles.
"The fulfilment of my wife's dream to return to Ireland and give her children a better life seemed so close to fruition," he says.
"As he left the house that morning, he had a life full of possibilities before him."
"There is nothing more precious than family time," he adds.
"Little did I know that the life we had built, was about to be torn apart forever."
Mr Barker recalls the last time he saw his son alive, he says James “immediately” asked if he could replace his sick sister on the trip to Omagh.
“A day with friends getting up to mischief would be much more appealing to him than caddying for his father,” he says.