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The RUC Handling of Certain Intelligence and Its Relationship with Government Communications Headquarters in Relation to the Omagh Bomb on 15 August 1998
Investigation Report The RUC handling of certain intelligence and its relationship with Government Communications Headquarters in relation to the Omagh Bomb on 15 August 1998 Public Statement by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland arising from a referral by the Chief Constable, in accordance with Section 62 of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 On 4 May 2010, I received a Referral from the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) concerning a number of specific matters relating to the manner in which the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) Special Branch handled both intelligence and its relationship with Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in relation to the Omagh Bombing on 15 August 1998. The referral originated from issues identified by the House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee. 1.2 In 2013 the Chief Constable made a further Referral to my Office in connection with the findings of a report commissioned by the Omagh Support and Self Help Group (OSSHG) in support of a full Public Inquiry into the Omagh Bombing. The report identified and discussed a wide range of issues, including a reported tripartite intelligence led operation based in the Republic of Ireland involving American, British and Irish Agencies, central to which was a named agent. It suggested that intelligence from this operation was not shared prior to, or with those who subsequently investigated the Omagh Bombing. 1 1.3 On 12 September 2013 the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers M.P. issued a statement explaining that there were not sufficient grounds to justify a further inquiry beyond those that had already taken place. -
Statement by the Police Ombudsman for Northern
SSTTAATTEEMMEENNTT BBYY TTHHEE PPOOLLIICCEE OOMMBBUUDDSSMMAANN FFOORR NNOORRTTHHEERRNN IIRREELLAANNDD OONN HHEERR IINNVVEESSTTIIGGAATTIIOONN OOFF MMAATTTTEERRSS RREELLAATTIINNGG TTOO TTHHEE OOMMAAGGHH BBOOMMBBIINNGG OONN AAUUGGUUSSTT 1155 11999988 The persons responsible for the Omagh Bombing are the terrorists who planned and executed the atrocity. Nothing contained in this report should detract from that clear and unequivocal fact. Wednesday 12 December 2001 STATEMENT OF THE POLICE OMBUDSMAN FOR NORTHERN IRELAND IN RELATION TO THE OMAGH BOMB INVESTIGATION REPORT 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Under the provisions of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 (the Police Act), Section 55(6)(b), the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (the Police Ombudsman) may, without a complaint, formally investigate a matter in accordance with Section 56 of the Act if it is desirable in the public interest. 1.2 A Report has been presented to the Secretary of State, the Northern Ireland Policing Board and the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) under Regulation 20 of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (Complaints etc.) Regulations 2000. The public interest relates to material issues preceding and following the Omagh Bomb on 15 August 1998. 1.3 This Statement in relation to the Report on the Omagh Bomb is published under Section 62 of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 2. THE OMAGH BOMB 2.1 On Saturday 15 August 1998 at approximately 3.05 p.m. a terrorist bomb (the Omagh Bomb) exploded in the small county town of Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Three telephone calls were made, the first of which was at 2.29 p.m. warning that a bomb was going to detonate in the town. -
Dziadok Mikalai 1'St Year Student
EUROPEAN HUMANITIES UNIVERSITY Program «World Politics and economics» Dziadok Mikalai 1'st year student Essay Written assignment Course «International relations and governances» Course instructor Andrey Stiapanau Vilnius, 2016 The Troubles (Northern Ireland conflict 1969-1998) Plan Introduction 1. General outline of a conflict. 2. Approach, theory, level of analysis (providing framework). Providing the hypothesis 3. Major actors involved, definition of their priorities, preferences and interests. 4. Origins of the conflict (historical perspective), major actions timeline 5. Models of conflicts, explanations of its reasons 6. Proving the hypothesis 7. Conclusion Bibliography Introduction Northern Ireland conflict, called “the Troubles” was the most durable conflict in the Europe since WW2. Before War in Donbass (2014-present), which lead to 9,371 death up to June 3, 20161 it also can be called the bloodiest conflict, but unfortunately The Donbass War snatched from The Troubles “the victory palm” of this dreadful competition. The importance of this issue, however, is still essential and vital because of challenges Europe experience now. Both proxy war on Donbass and recent terrorist attacks had strained significantly the political atmosphere in Europe, showing that Europe is not safe anymore. In this conditions, it is necessary for us to try to assume, how far this insecurity and tensions might go and will the circumstances and the challenges of a international relations ignite the conflict in Northern Ireland again. It also makes sense for us to recognize that the Troubles was also a proxy war to a certain degree 23 Sources, used in this essay are mostly mass-media articles, human rights observers’ and international organizations reports, and surveys made by political scientists on this issue. -
1 '…For Peace Comes Dropping Slow.' Lessons from the Middle In
‘…for peace comes dropping slow.’ Lessons from the middle in Northern Ireland’s peace process. Tony Craig On August 15, 1998 a terrorist car bomb exploded in the town of Omagh in Northern Ireland killing 29 and injuring over 200. Omagh was the deadliest single bomb attack of Northern Ireland’s Troubles, though it occurred after the Good Friday peace agreement there had been ratified by convincing referendum majorities. Like with the assault on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, history will primarily teach these events as markers of the end of a particular phase and the beginning of a new one (think 9/11) and certainly events like these offer moments of punctuation that are useful in developing narratives and communicating the past to a wider audience. The problem is however that episodes of conflict and violence can come to dominate our understanding of history to the detriment of other factors, trends and behaviors. They remain of course important, as when people are hurt, suffer or die their deaths have profound effects, and when dramatic events happen people pay attention. This emphasis on history as drama replayed in high contrast however dangerously muddies the wider reality where violence is never the whole picture and government action far from the only or even best response. If we view conflict and violence as the interruption of ordinary life; if we see them as aberrant, local, temporal and discordant, then we can see how push- button responses by the state can actually metastasize problems when applied in the longer term as well as how forebearance, stoicism and trust can be the better response to violent division. -
“A Peace of Sorts”: a Cultural History of the Belfast Agreement, 1998 to 2007 Eamonn Mcnamara
“A Peace of Sorts”: A Cultural History of the Belfast Agreement, 1998 to 2007 Eamonn McNamara A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy, Australian National University, March 2017 Declaration ii Acknowledgements I would first like to thank Professor Nicholas Brown who agreed to supervise me back in October 2014. Your generosity, insight, patience and hard work have made this thesis what it is. I would also like to thank Dr Ben Mercer, your helpful and perceptive insights not only contributed enormously to my thesis, but helped fund my research by hiring and mentoring me as a tutor. Thank you to Emeritus Professor Elizabeth Malcolm whose knowledge and experience thoroughly enhanced this thesis. I could not have asked for a better panel. I would also like to thank the academic and administrative staff of the ANU’s School of History for their encouragement and support, in Monday afternoon tea, seminars throughout my candidature and especially useful feedback during my Thesis Proposal and Pre-Submission Presentations. I would like to thank the McClay Library at Queen’s University Belfast for allowing me access to their collections and the generous staff of the Linen Hall Library, Belfast City Library and Belfast’s Newspaper Library for all their help. Also thanks to my local libraries, the NLA and the ANU’s Chifley and Menzies libraries. A big thank you to Niamh Baker of the BBC Archives in Belfast for allowing me access to the collection. I would also like to acknowledge Bertie Ahern, Seán Neeson and John Lindsay for their insightful interviews and conversations that added a personal dimension to this thesis. -
The Return of the Militants: Violent Dissident Republicanism
The Return of the Militants: Violent Dissident Republicanism A policy report published by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR) ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Martyn Frampton is Lecturer in Modern/ Contemporary History at Queen Mary, University of London. He was formerly a Research Fellow at Peterhouse in Cambridge. He is an expert on the Irish republican movement and his books, The Long March: The Political Strategy of Sinn Féin, 1981–2007 and Talking to Terrorists: Making Peace in Northern Ireland and the Basque Country, were published in 2009, by Palgrave Macmillan and Hurst and Co. respectively. ABOUT ICSR The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR) is a unique partnership in which King’s College London, the University of Pennsylvania, the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (Israel) and the Regional Center for Conflict Prevention Amman (Jordan) are equal stakeholders. The aim and mission of ICSR is to bring together knowledge and leadership to counter the growth of radicalisation and political violence. For more information, please visit www.icsr.info. CONTACT DETAILS For questions, queries and additional copies of this report, please contact: ICSR King’s College London 138 –142 Strand London WC2R 1HH United Kingdom T. + 44 20 7848 2065 F. + 44 20 7848 2748 E. [email protected] Like all other ICSR publications, this report can be downloaded free of charge from the ICSR website at www.icsr.info. © ICSR 2010 Prologue ince the Belfast Friday Agreement of 1998, the security situation in Northern Ireland has improved immeasurably. S The Provisional IRA and the main loyalist terrorist groups have called an end to their campaigns and their weapons have been decommissioned under an internationally monitored process. -
Reality Check: the Real IRA's Tactical Adaptation and Restraint in the Aftermath of the Omagh Bombing
PERSPECTIVES ON TERRORISM Volume 14, Issue 6 Reality Check: The Real IRA’s Tactical Adaptation and Restraint in the Aftermath of the Omagh Bombing by John Morrison Abstract The Real IRA (RIRA) has been the most consistently active of all of the violent dissident republican (VDR) groups in a post-Troubles Northern Ireland, including in its contemporary guise as the New IRA. This group’s violence has claimed the lives of police officers, soldiers, suspected-drug dealers, its own members, and innocent civilians. Shortly after its formation, the group’s members were responsible for the single worst atrocity of the Troubles—the Omagh bombing of August 1998. From that attack to the group’s resurgence in 2007, its violent activity changed in focus. This was largely a result of the post-Omagh response from the legislature and security services. These external pressures worked in parallel with internal brakes to violent activity. The present article utilises the internal brakes typology alongside political organisational theory to assess the non-violent decision-making processes during this period. Central to this analysis is the consideration of the primacy of organisational survival. In the article, primary source interviews and organisational statements are assessed. Keywords: Northern Ireland, Real IRA, terrorism, restraint, dissidents Introduction The Troubles in Northern Ireland are over. The conflict that claimed the lives of more than 3,600 people [1] was ostensibly brought to an end with the signing of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement in April 1998. Alongside the subsequent St. Andrew’s Agreement, this has brought Northern Ireland on a slow transition into a post- conflict society. -
The Bomber Who Calls Ahead: Terrorism, Insurgency, and the Politics of Pre-Attack Warnings
The Bomber Who Calls Ahead: Terrorism, Insurgency, and the Politics of Pre-Attack Warnings Joseph M. Brown Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2015 c 2015 Joseph M. Brown All rights reserved Abstract The Bomber Who Calls Ahead: Terrorism, Insurgency, and the Politics of Pre-Attack Warnings Joseph M. Brown Terrorist and insurgent groups sometimes give pre-attack warnings, informing governments of the time and place of attacks before they occur. This dissertation explains why militant groups give these warnings. It also explains why governments believe these warnings and respond to them, mobilizing emergency resources and carrying out economically disruptive evacuations. Based on interviews and other historical research on the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), the Tamil Tigers, Shining Path, and Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA), this dissertation argues that pre-attack warnings serve a casualty-limiting function. Militant groups give warnings when civilian casualties are politically costly for the group. Civilian casualties are especially costly for groups that depend on local populations for shelter, funding and other critical resources. These conclusions are confirmed by logit analyses of a new database of more than 3,000 bombing events. A game theoretic signaling model also predicts when governments will believe and respond to warnings. Governments respond to warnings when militants are known to warn only when attacking and the frequency of prank warnings is low. The model’s predictions are confirmed by interviews of police in Northern Ireland and Spain. -
V Michael Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly
Neutral Citation No. [2013] NICA 75 Ref: GIR9074 Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down Delivered: 19/12/13 (subject to editorial corrections)* IN HER MAJESTY’S COURT OF APPEAL IN NORTHERN IRELAND ON APPEAL FROM THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION ________ BETWEEN: MARTIN AND CHRISTOPHER BRESLIN (BY HIMSELF AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF GERALDINE BRESLIN) CATHERINA ANNE GALLAGHER MICHAEL JAMES GALLAGHER (BY HIMSELF AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF ADRIAN GALLAGHER) EDMUND WILLIAM GIBSON STANLEY JAMES McCOMBE (BY HIMSELF AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF ANN McCOMBE) MARIAN ELAINE RADFORD (BY HERSELF AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF ALAN RADFORD) PAUL WILLIAM RADFORD COLIN DAVID JAMES WILSON DENISE FRANCESCA WILSON GARY GODFREY CHARLES WILSON GERALDINE ANN WILSON (BY HERSELF AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF LORRAINE WILSON) GODFREY DAVID WILSON (BY HIMSELF AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF LORRAINE WILSON) Plaintiffs/Respondents AND MICHAEL COLM MURPHY SEAMUS DALY Appellants/Defendants ________ Before: HIGGINS LJ, GIRVAN LJ, COGHLIN LJ ________ 1 GIRVAN LJ (delivering the judgment of the Court) Introduction [1] This is an appeal brought by the appellants who challenge the judgment of Gillen J (“the trial judge”) delivered on 20 March 2013 whereby the trial judge found each of the appellants jointly and severally liable in the action brought by the plaintiffs, the respondents to the appeal (“the plaintiffs”), in which they claimed damages for trespass to the person. The plaintiffs’ claims arose out of the bomb explosion in Omagh County Tyrone which occurred on 15 August 1998. -
The Omagh Bombing: Some Remaining Questions
House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee The Omagh bombing: some remaining questions Fourth Report of Session 2009–10 Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 10 February 2010 HC 374 Incorporating HC 359-i,ii,iii, iv and v, Session 2008-09 Published on 16 March 2010 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £0.00 The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Northern Ireland Office (but excluding individual cases and advice given by the Crown Solicitor); and other matters within the responsibilities of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (but excluding the expenditure, administration and policy of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Northern Ireland and the drafting of legislation by the Office of the Legislative Counsel). Current membership Sir Patrick Cormack MP (Conservative, South Staffordshire) (Chairman) Mr David Anderson MP (Labour, Blaydon) Rosie Cooper MP (Labour, West Lancashire) Christopher Fraser MP (Conservative, South West Norfolk) Mr John Grogan MP (Labour, Selby) Mr Stephen Hepburn MP (Labour, Jarrow) Lady Hermon MP (Ulster Unionist Party, North Down) Kate Hoey MP (Labour, Vauxhall) Dr Alasdair McDonnell MP (SDLP, Belfast South) Mr Denis Murphy MP (Labour, Wansbeck) Stephen Pound MP (Labour, Ealing North) David Simpson MP (Democratic Unionist Party, Upper Bann) Mrs Iris Robinson, former Member for Strangford, was a member of the Committee during this inquiry. Powers The committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. -
1 Introduction for Most Observers, Terrorism in Ireland Has Gone Away. for Those Closer to the Region, However, the Issue Has B
Introduction For most observers, terrorism in Ireland has gone away. For those closer to the region, however, the issue has been frustratingly ambiguous. Though large-scale terrorist activity has been relegated to the past, an escalation of low-level terrorist activity by Irish Republican splinter groups has recently reached its highest level in ten years. Breakaway Irish Republican terror groups, known as ‘the dissidents’ (characterised by their refusal to sign up to the 1998 peace accord) came to the fore when in March 2009, when members of two such groupings claimed responsibility for three murders. Within a period of 48 hours, members of the Real IRA shot dead two soldiers at Massareene Barracks, while Continuity IRA members shot and killed a member of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Though these murders represented the most dramatic examples of residual terrorism in Ireland since the 1998 Omagh bombing, the attacks signaled a dramatic turn in an already steady rise in activity from 2007 to today. In 2010 alone, high level attacks ranged from the detonation of a bomb at a Newry courthouse in February to the targeting of a number of PSNI stations by dissident bombers throughout the year. On April 2nd 2011, consistent with this overall rise in violent dissident Republican (VDR) activity, a car bomb planted by dissident Republicans murdered 25 year Catholic PSNI officer Ronan Kerr outside his home in Omagh, Co. Tyrone. But VDR activity goes far beyond the targeting of police, soldiers and targets of ‘national security’. Recent years have also seen the return of punishment attacks and other forms of vigilante justice where, among others, suspected drug dealers and sex offenders have been targeted within traditionally Republican communities. -
SJO Potter, GE Carter. the Omagh Bombing
J R Army Med Corps: first published as 10.1136/jramc-146-01-04 on 1 February 2000. Downloaded from J R Army Med Corps 2000; 146: 18-21 The Omagh Bombing - A Medical Perspective Capt SJO Potter BSc (Hons), MB, ChB, RAMC RMO 4 Royal Irish Regiment, BFPO 804 Dr GE Carter MB, ChB, DRCOG GP Trainee SUMMARY: The bomb in Omagh on the 15th August 1998 was responsible for the largest loss of life of any single terrorist incident in the whole of the “Troubles” in Northern Ireland. However, the medical response to this tragedy provided an excellent opportunity for the civilian and military agencies to work together. As a consequence of this a number of lessons were drawn which are presented in the paper. Whatever the outcome of the peace process these lessons will have an important role in the future, since history would suggest that there is little possibility of the terrorist threat ever completely receding. OMAGH COURT HOUSE LOCATION OF VBIED http://militaryhealth.bmj.com/ Fig 1. Diagram showing location of Court House in relation to actual location of car bomb. (VBIED) The Good Friday Agreement heralded a new era for the small district general hospital - The Tyrone County. The people of Northern Ireland. It was with great belief in the Ulster Ballygawley Bus bombing in 1988 (8 dead) and the Teebane Referendum that they dared to look forward to peace. The massacre in 1992 (8 dead) had been the previous largest Canary Wharf, Thiepval Barracks and Manchester bombings atrocities in the area although there had also been many smaller which all occured during previous PIRA cease-fires provided shootings and bombings locally.