Omagh bomb families make new call for inquiry

Twenty-nine people, including a woman pregnant with twins, were killed in the Real IRA attack

Relatives of victims of the Omagh bombing say they are prepared to go to court to try to force the British and Irish governments to hold a full public inquiry into the murders.

They have released excerpts of a new report that raises concerns about the failure to share intelligence that they say could have prevented the bombing.

Their call for a public inquiry has been backed by Amnesty International.

The Real IRA bomb killed 29 people in 1998. One was pregnant with twins.

It was the worst atrocity during more than 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland.

The families of those killed still believe the full truth of the events surrounding the bombing has never been revealed.

Over a year ago they presented a report to the British and Irish governments as part of their campaign for a full public inquiry.

Failure

On Thursday, just a few days before the 15th anniversary of the bombing, they revealed some of that document that they say shows there was substantial intelligence warning that dissident republicans were planning an attack.

However, they believe information was not shared between police forces north and south of the border and intelligence services, including the FBI and MI5.

They said that the attack could have been prevented and the failure to reveal more about what was known had prevented anyone from being criminally convicted of the killings.

Michael Gallagher, of the Omagh Support and Self Help Group, called on the British and Irish governments to share what they knew at the time.

The car bomb attack on 15 August 1998 also injured 220 people.

No-one has been convicted over the bombing, but four men, convicted Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly, were found liable for it after a civil case taken by the families.