The Omagh Bombing Inquiry is an independent statutory inquiry into whether the bomb detonated in the town of Omagh in August 1998, which caused the loss of 31 lives and injured hundreds of others, could have reasonably been prevented.
Public inquiries are investigations set up by the Government to respond to events of major public concern or to consider controversial public policy issues. Once established, an inquiry is independent of Government. Unlike proceedings in a court, an inquiry is an ‘inquisitorial’ process, meaning it is a search for the truth relying on the investigation of evidence by a judge, rather than an ‘adversarial’ process (where two or more parties present arguments through advocates to prove, or defend, an issue). While inquiries cannot determine criminal or civil liability, they can highlight where failings have occurred.
The Omagh Bombing Inquiry is a statutory public inquiry, established under the Inquiries Act 2005. Statutory inquiries have a wide range of powers, such as compelling witnesses to give evidence under oath. Statutory inquiries run according to the Inquiry Rules 2006, which provide a statutory guide for the chairman, and include detailed rules on evidence and procedure. Non-statutory public inquiries are not established under a specific Act of Parliament and therefore do not have the same powers granted by the legislation.
The Chairman of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry is the Rt Hon Lord Turnbull. Lord Turnbull was appointed to the role of Chair of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 12 June 2023. As Chairman, Lord Turnbull will decide the procedural rules and protocols and have ultimate responsibility for the conduct of the inquiry, the publication of the final report and any recommendations. Lord Turnbull is supported by a team of legal and secretariat staff. You can read about Lord Turnbull and his team on the About us page.
A Core Participant is a person, institution or organisation that 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. You do not need to be a Core Participant to provide evidence to the Inquiry.
The Inquiry Protocol on applications for Core Participant status governed this process and contains more information on how the Chairman determines Core Participant status. You can read the Core Participant list here.
On 2 February 2023, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Rt Hon Chris Heaton-Harris MP announced the Omagh Bombing Inquiry in response to a 2021 High Court judgment, which found there were specific issues which might suggest that the bombing could have been prevented.
The Omagh Bombing Inquiry will determine whether there were steps which could reasonably have been taken by the United Kingdom state authorities to prevent the bombing. There are four key areas, which have informed the scope of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry. These are: The handling and sharing of intelligence; the use of mobile phone analysis; whether there was advance knowledge or reasonable means of knowledge of the bomb and whether disruption operations could or should have been mounted, which may have helped prevent the Real IRA attack.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has set terms of reference and the Chairman has outlined his approach to this independent investigation. The Inquiry will broadly explore: The UK threat assessment at the time of the bombing; the adequacy of measures in place by the UK authorities to disrupt dissident terrorist activity; and how UK authorities collected, shared and analysed intelligence with the potential to disrupt the planning and preparation of the bombing.
The Chairman and the Inquiry team operate independently from the Government, and from Core Participants and other organisations involved in the Inquiry. The Inquiries Act 2005 gives the Chairman the legal authority to direct the Inquiry’s procedure and conduct as he sees fit.
The relationship between the Inquiry and its sponsor department, the Northern Ireland Office, is documented and agreed. It is the Secretary to the Inquiry’s role to manage that relationship and ensure the Chairman and Inquiry’s operations are independent and free from any undue influence.
The Chairman and his legal team do not have the power to prosecute or convict individuals. The responsibility for all that occurred on the day lies squarely with those terrorists who made, transported and planted the bomb. It is not the Inquiry’s role to determine who those individuals were, and it does not have the power to determine any individual person’s criminal liability. Instead, it is the Inquiry’s role to establish the truth of whether the terrible events of 15 August 1998 could have been prevented.
The first preliminary hearing and Commemorative and Personal Statement Hearings have been held at the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh.
Hearings that follow, at which evidence will be produced and witnesses will be questioned, maybe in Omagh, Belfast, elsewhere in Northern Ireland or indeed in London. The Chairman will decide on the hearing location, or locations, based on a number of factors. The Inquiry secretariat and legal teams will be based in both Belfast and London.
In line with our duty to transparency, the Inquiry hearings will ordinarily be open to the public to attend where individuals can watch proceedings from the public gallery. The hearings will also be live streamed on the Inquiry YouTube Channel. There may be times when hearings will be held in private, for reasons of confidentiality or national security for example. These are called ‘closed hearings’. The Chairman will only take evidence in closed session where he judges it is absolutely necessary to get to the truth.
All up to date information about the Inquiry can be found on our website. The website will contain recent and updated open documents, information about the Inquiry’s team, ongoing work and investigations, and details on how to get in touch with the Inquiry. We will publish regular updates with the progress of the Inquiry and post important updates on Twitter/X.
The Inquiry team can be contacted by email enquiries@omagh.independent-inquiry.uk
The length of the Inquiry depends on a number of factors, including the amount of material and evidence the Inquiry will need to consider, and the number of witnesses the Chairman will wish to call to give evidence. This work is still underway and therefore cannot be predicted with certainty at this stage.
The Inquiry will publish financial statements on a quarterly basis, which will show how much it is spending in carrying out its work.
The Inquiry is very aware that it will be investigating matters that may cause considerable distress, and it will operate in as supportive a manner as it can. We are committed to ensuring that sensitive arrangements for support are put in place to assist those giving evidence, and those who wish to attend any of the Inquiry’s public hearings. We are currently developing this provision in collaboration with local support groups, and those across Northern Ireland. The WAVE Trauma centre in Omagh provides support and services across communities, for those affected by the troubles, and can be contacted through their website or 028 8225 2522 if you need support when interacting with the Inquiry. You can read more about the support services here.
Commemorative Hearings can be a key part of statutory inquiries and normally take place at the start of the Inquiry process. Commemorative Hearings differ for every inquiry and are very much led by context of each inquiry.
The Omagh Bombing Inquiry will hold four weeks of Commemorative and Personal Statement Hearings in Strule Arts Centre in Omagh in January and February 2025. During this time, the Inquiry will commemorate publicly those who were killed as a result of the bombing and hear the impact that the Omagh Bombing had on individuals and communities. This will allow the Chairman to hear directly from those most affected by the bombing, so he can understand the terrible consequences people suffered because of the bomb.
This information is key in supporting the Chairman’s approach to the later stages of the Inquiry.