Omagh evidence to be re-examined

Evidence in the Omagh bomb case is being re-examined to establish whether there are grounds to re-try the man acquitted of the 29 murders, police said today.

The move has come after two officers accused of lying in the Crown Court trial of Co Armagh electrician Sean Hoey (38) two years ago were cleared by the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman.

Earlier this week four other men were found responsible for the 1998 bombing in a landmark civil action in Belfast High Court taken by families of the victims.

In December 2007, Hoey was found not guilty of the bombing and a series of other Real IRA attacks around that time.

In his judgment, trial judge Mr Justice Reg Weir criticised the evidence presented by the prosecution and in particular accused two scene-of-crime officers of misleading the court on material recovered from the scene of a bomb
find in a forest in Co Tyrone.

But earlier this year ombudsman Al Hutchinson cleared the officers of a deliberate deception and questioned the defence team’s claim that the evidence from Altmore Forest had been wrongly handled.

On the back of these findings, the police have now undertaken a comprehensive review of all the evidence from Altmore and the other Real IRA attacks, including Omagh, to see if a new case can be brought against Hoey.

Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris gave details of the re-examination during a meeting of the Policing Board in Belfast today.

“After the ombudsman reports of February this year we have revisited all of the evidence again, not only in respect of the Omagh bombing but other bombing attacks around that time involving the Real IRA,” he said, before striking a
note of caution.

“Working through that what we are looking for is new evidential opportunities, realistically we have to find substantial new evidence if there is any possibility of a criminal prosecution.”

On Monday convicted Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt and three other men — Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly — were found liable for the Omagh bombing and ordered to pay £1.6 million damages to 12 relatives who took the case
against them.

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