Northern Ireland police Ombudsman Mrs Nuala O'Loan tonight strongly defended her report into the Omagh bomb investigation.
Rejecting criticisms from Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan that the report was full of inaccuracies and unwarranted assumptions, Mrs O'Loan called for rigorous investigative procedures to be put in place for the future.
She acknowledged there were clear disagreements between her findings and the information presented today by the Chief Constable. "I acknowledged in my report and I do so again that the bombing was a massive atrocity and the responsibility of the RUC/PSNI was awesome.
"In so many ways they deserve credit for much of what they have done.
"It would not have been right of me to minimise or be deflected from making criticism of the failures and efficiencies which we find over the past months, many of which were clearly identified by their own internal review," she said.
Mrs O'Loan urged the families of the victims and the policing board be given time to consider all the issues.
"It is important that past mistakes are not repeated and that everything possible is done to catch those behind this terrible atrocity."
PA