Omagh report slams N. Irish police

The Omagh bombing was Northern Ireland's worst guerrilla attack

BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- An independent report into the 1998 Omagh bombing that killed 29 people in Northern Ireland has accused police chiefs of bungling the investigation.

The report by Nuala O'Loan, who as police ombudsman investigates complaints, also said Northern Irish police under Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan had failed to act on tips warning that an attack was imminent and that Omagh was a possible target.

O'Loan said Flanagan's flawed judgment in the subsequent criminal inquiry significantly reduced the chances of catching the killers from the republican splinter group, the Real IRA.

No one in Northern Ireland has yet been charged with the Ausgust 1998 bombing. One person is awaiting trial in the Irish Republic in connection with Omagh on charges of conspiracy to cause an explosion.

EXTRA INFORMATION • Text of Police Ombudsman's report (Requires Acrobat reader. External sites are not endorsed by CNN) • IN-DEPTH: Conflict and hope in Northern Ireland    RESOURCES Message Boards: Peace in Northern Ireland?

"The victims, their families, the people of Omagh and officers of the Royal Ulster Constabulary were let down by defective leadership, poor judgment and a lack of urgency," the report claimed.

The detectives who headed the investigation into the worst single terrorist atrocity in 30 years of bloodshed in Northern Ireland were also accused of failing the victims and their families. Among the victims of the huge car bomb was a woman pregnant with twins.

O'Loan attacked the role of anti-terrorist Special Branch officers, criticising them for failing to pass on information warning of threatened dissident republican terror strikes, including one which was to take place in Omagh on the day the Real IRA bombed the town.

In a devastating report into the investigation, O'Loan accused senior management in the RUC of being defensive and uncooperative.

In an unprecedented attack on his leadership, O'Loan lambasted the chief constable of what is now the Police Service of Northern Ireland for his judgment.

IRA splinter group the 'Real IRA' said they planted the bomb

She said: "The police ombudsman has concluded with great sadness that the judgment and leadership of the chief constable and assistant chief constable has been seriously flawed.

"As a result of that, the chances of detaining and convicting the Omagh bombers has been significantly reduced. "The victims, their families, the people of Omagh and officers of the RUC were let down by defective leadership, poor judgment and a lack of urgency," the report claimed.

Flanagan and senior RUC officers also came under fire for being "defensive and at times uncooperative" with her inquiry into the investigation of the bomb.

Flanagan hit back on Wednesday, saying the findings were a "desperate attempt" to justify an "erroneous conclusion reached in advance."

He said he was taking legal advice on having the report quashed, saying the officers who conducted it were not suitably experienced, and insisted he would not resign and would "publicly commit suicide" had the findings been those of a fair and thorough report.

In one of her main recommendations, O'Loan called for a new team of police officers from outside Northern Ireland to be set up to investigate the bombing.

The police ombudsman also called for a review of the role and function of Special Branch, ensuring that there is a flow of information with other parts of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

She called for the passing on of all relevant intelligence to senior investigators in the Omagh bomb inquiry and a review of terrorist-linked murder inquiries to also be carried out by the UK's Inspector of Constabulary, looking at the lines of communication and sharing of information between the Special Branch and CID and with the senior investigating officer in charge of any murder inquiry.

The report also said officers in charge of the inquiry were guilty of "failed leadership".

"This should not have been the response to an incident which resulted in 29 deaths."

The Ombudsman said documents relating to the investigation were not passed on by the Special Branch to the team investigating the bombing. Early on Wednesday ahead of publication, O'Loan met relatives of those who died in the August 1998 atrocities.

Sinn Fein: 'Damning indictment'

The UK's Northern Ireland Secretary, John Reid, insisted at the weekend that there was no warning of a bomb in Omagh before the explosion.

Reid, who had seen a draft of the report, insisted it does not say information that was received ahead of the attack could have averted the tragedy.

Earlier this year victims' relatives launched an unprecedented court action against five men they alleged were members of the "Real IRA," an anti-British faction that opposes the peace process.

Split from the Irish Republican Army, the Real IRA claimed responsibility for the bombing.

The Omagh car bomb wounded more than 200 people and was aimed at ruining the Good Friday peace accord of April 1998.

Sinn Fein, the political ally of the IRA, called the report "a damning indictment" of the special security police in Northern Ireland and called for reform.

O'Loan's report was released after she gave copies to the families of Omagh victims. The father of one, Michael Gallagher, said he was shocked and called for a public inquiry.