The British government insulted MPs trying to scrutinise a key Omagh bomb report when it denied full access, an influential House of Commons committee said today.
The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee expressed disquiet after its chairman was refused the entire findings of Sir Peter Gibson on intercept intelligence about the atrocity that killed 29 people and two unborn babies.
The inquiry concluded the 1998 Real IRA bombing could not have been prevented and that information was not withheld from police.
The Prime Minister has three times turned down the committee’s requests for access. Secretary of State Shaun Woodward and Cabinet Office Minister Tessa Jowell have also refused to let the committee’s chairman, Sir Patrick Cormack, see the review.
Sir Patrick said: “We cannot properly conduct our work in relation to Omagh unless we are fully informed of the facts surrounding the bombing.
“It really is an insult to the select committee that its chairman should not be allowed to see this report.”
The committee published a special report, The Omagh Bombing: Access to Intelligence, to highlight its displeasure at the matter.
The original inquiry into how intelligence was handled was chaired by Sir Peter with a remit to investigate how intercept intelligence was shared in the Omagh bomb investigation. It was set up after a BBC Panorama programme claimed security officials were listening to the Omagh bombers.
The government has published a shortened version of Sir Peter’s dossier.
Sir Patrick added: “We do not doubt that Sir Peter’s summary is an accurate reflection of his full report. We wish, none the less, to satisfy ourselves that that is so, and he has himself said that he would be content for us to do so.
“The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has offered the Prime Minister every safeguard by waiving the right of all its 13 members to read the report and asking that I should be able to read it on their behalf, under supervision and without taking notes, and with my word that its contents will remain entirely confidential.”
The committee has been allowed to see only a summary of Sir Peter Gibson’s conclusions, published in January. The full, unclassified review, delivered to the prime minister in December, is four times as long as the summary.
The Intelligence and Security Committee has been allowed to see the review, but this is not a House of Commons Committee. Sir Peter Gibson has said he would wish as many people as possible to see his full review.
PA