Garda lied over Omagh bomb claim
They were motivated solely by concerns about his own career.
That is the key finding of a government-appointed inquiry into the allegations which prompted relatives of the Omagh bomb victims to seek an independent investigation into a "cover-up".
The inquiry, headed by former government secretary Dermot Nally, concluded that the allegations were without foundation.
And it also ruled that the accusations - made by Det Sgt John White to the North's Police Ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan - were "a direct consequence of, and motivated solely by, concerns arising from the difficulties in which he found himself with his superiors in the Garda Siochana and with the criminal law".
Two weeks ago Det Sgt White was acquitted by a jury of a charge of planting a shotgun at a Travellers' camp at Burnfoot in Co Donegal.
He was also found not guilty early last year on charges of perverting the course of justice and making false statements.
Details of the Nally report findings have not been published by the Government up to now, partly because of the criminal proceedings and also for security reasons, as it contains information on garda operational procedures.
However, the Irish Independent last night learnt of the key findings of the report, which was also prepared by a member of the Independent Monitoring Commission on paramilitarism in Northern Ireland, Joseph Brosnan, and former Director of Public Prosecutions Eamon Barnes.
A limited statement on the Nally findings is expected to be made by Justice Minister Michael McDowell in the Dail in October.
A spokesman for the Department of Justice said last night that the issue of limited publication of the Nally report would be addressed when the Dail resumed in the autumn.
A number of issues, such as security and defamation, had to be considered, while the fact that a man was facing criminal charges arising out of Omagh also has to be taken into account.
Det Sgt White will be a key figure in the three new reports from the Morris Tribunal into garda corruption in Donegal. These are due to be published within the next 10 days.
The Real IRA attack on Omagh on August 15, 1998, killed 29 people and injured around 300 others.
Det Sgt White subsequently claimed to Ms O'Loan, and later to the senior PSNI officer in charge of the Omagh investigation, that intelligence he had supplied to the garda's crime and security branch that the Real IRA had "obtained" a car on the eve of the blast had not been passed on to the then RUC.
However, the Nally report said it became clear, in interviews with Det Sgt White, that he did not pass on any of the details of his allegations to named individuals, or anybody else, before he became aware he was subject to investigation by his garda colleagues.
He made no allegations to anyone or voiced his concerns to anyone, not even his wife, until after his arrest by gardai on March 21, 2000 - 19 months after the Omagh atrocity.
The report found that his assertions that he was motivated by guilt regarding the Omagh bomb and by a sense of responsibility to the victims were "inherently incredible".
In his statement to the PSNI, Det Sgt White confirmed that he had been arrested before he had raised any issues concerning Omagh. The report said it transpired he had spoken to none of the individuals he had named prior to his arrest.
Mr Nally suggested that the reason why he made his allegations could be ascertained only by reference to the circumstances surrounding his making them.
The Nally inquiry was set up by then Justice Minister John O'Donoghue, held its first meeting in April 2002 and concluded its investigations the following year.
Before being transferred to Donegal, Det Sgt White had been based in Dublin and was receiving information from a car thief, Paddy Dixon, who was part of a gang supplying stolen vehicles to the Real IRA.
As a result of the information, which was passed on by Sgt White to the force's crime and security branch, gardai managed to intercept a number of car bombs as they were being prepared for use against targets in Northern Ireland.
At that stage the Dublin brigade of the Real IRA became virtually defunct because of the garda interceptions and Dixon's information was no longer of any use to the garda authorities from May onwards.
The Real IRA eventually decided to acquire their vehicles elsewhere and did not use a car stolen by the Dublin gang for use in the Omagh atrocity in August.
- Tom Brady
