Report into Omagh bomb says cooperation between RUC and Garda was

CO-OPERATION between gardai and the RUC was practically non- existant as they hunted the Omagh bombers, an official report has claimed.

And, according to the report, when the RUC launched a review of the investigation, two years after the atrocity, the Garda Siochanna refused to take part.

The report, by RUC Chief Superintendent Brian McVicker, which has never been published, has been seen by the Irish Sunday Mirror.

It reveals that the gardai "declined" an offer to take part in a review of the Omagh bomb investigation, which was commissioned by the RUC's Head of Crime in March, 2000.

Last night, Lawrence Rush, whose wife Libby died in the blast, called on Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne to make public "all the results" of the Garda investigation into the Real IRA bombing.

In the document, Chief Supt McVicker said the main objective of the review was to highlight the need for joint work between the two police forces on the Omagh bomb inquiry.

To achieve this objective, the NIO had undertaken to push the importance of such co-operation during meetings of the North/South body, which was established under the Good Friday Agreement.

The report claims that co-operation was almost non-existent and in one section, which deals with liaison between the RUC and the Garda, Mr McVicker describes co-operation as "minimal".

McVicker goes onto say the Garda and RUC investigations ran parallel investigations and tensions between the two forces resulted in progress on the Omagh investigation becoming "disjointed".

However, it is the revelation that senior officers of the Garda Siochana declined to take part in a review of the Omagh bomb investigation which has caused most concern to some relatives.

The Sunday Mirror has learnt that when the Garda were told about the review of the Omagh investigation they refused to take part because they might wish to review their own investigation at the same time.

It is also understood that the McVicker review of the RUC's Omagh bomb enquiries had an unsettling effect on many of the officers who were working on the investigation.

Mr Rush said he had made no secret that he was unimpressed by the police investigations into the atrocity, which killed 28 people in August 1998, and the McVicker report had reinforced his concerns.

He said: "There is only way Commissioner Byrne can restore confidence in the Garda investigation - he must be open in relation to all aspects of the Omagh bomb investigation.

"To date, the gardai have ignored all my requests for information and clarification.

"I now publicly call on Comm- issioner Byrne to meet with me to discuss my concerns."

Mr Rush said there was growing public concern that the Garda Siochana had not done enough to catch the RIRA men responsible for the 1998 bomb atrocity.

He said he had recently visited the offices of the Republic's Director of Public Prosecutions in Dublin to confront senior members of staff over the lack prosecutions.

"I could get no answers at all. They just did not want to know me.

"In fact I could not even get access to the building itself.

"It was degrading treatment by a public body.

"The way they treated me I felt completely dehuman- ised," Mr Rush said.

"As far as I am concerned the authorities in the Republic aren't doing enough to catch the Omagh bombers.

"They aren't interested in bringing anyone to justice and I want to know why."

Meanwhile, an informed source in Co Monaghan said that gardai had failed to question a number of men suspected of having been involved in the 1998 bombing.

The source said detectives knew the identities of the men but had failed to detain or question them since the atrocity four years ago.

"There are some Garda officers who know more about Omagh than they care to make public.

"No one has ever challenged them about the information they have.

"It's time they were forced to come clean," said the source.

The source said it was also known that two senior Real IRA members had been in contact with a Dublin government advisor regarding the Omagh bomb.

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