The Police Ombudsman’s Office has made its opening statement to the Omagh Bombing Inquiry.
The Police Ombudsman’s Office has made its opening statement to the Omagh Bombing Inquiry.
The statement, heard by the Inquiry today (Monday 23 June 2025), summarised the key findings of two Police Ombudsman investigations which examined the conduct of police in connection with the Omagh bombing.
The first was published in December 2001, by the then Police Ombudsman, Nuala O’Loan (Police Ombudsman public statement on matters arising from the Omagh bombing) and the second in October 2014 by the Dr Michael Maguire, who then held the office (Information not provided due to interpretation of the law: Police Ombudsman)
The Inquiry is considering whether the bombing in Omagh on 15 August 1998 could reasonably have been prevented by UK state authorities, and the Police Ombudsman’s statement noted that “Police officer conduct is a theme that traverses many of the issues that the eight chapters forming the oral hearings will touch upon, in particular, the intelligence police received, and how it was handled.”
The Police Ombudsman has ‘Core Participant’ status at the Inquiry. The Inquiry describes a Core Participant as “a person, institution or organisation that the Chairman of the Inquiry decides has a specific interest in the work of the Inquiry, and has a formal role defined by legislation. Core Participants have special rights in the Inquiry process. These include receiving documentation, being represented and making legal submissions, suggesting questions and receiving advance notice of the Inquiry’s report.”
Transcripts of hearings are published on the Inquiry website.