Omagh families issue summonses for intelligence information

October 09 2008 07:45 AM

Lawyers acting for the families of the Omagh bomb victims have issued summonses on the former Police Ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan, as well as a BBC reporter, MI5 and other British Government security agencies.

The summonses seek disclosure of all the facts behind what the police and other security services knew about a potential bombing in Omagh before the explosion.

Lawyers for the victims' families are suing five men they suspect of being behind the bombing in a multi-million pound civil action.

Nuala O'Loan has been summonsed to hand over any documents in her possession about claims intelligence services recorded phone conversations between the Omagh bombers on the day of the attack.

Further legal requests have been made to a retired senior civil servant at the Northern Ireland Office, a former assistant chief constable and other high-ranking police officers as well as a BBC reporter.

The families are seeking the tapes, transcripts or any documents relevant to the intelligence services` activities.