Ombudsman resisted 'high-level' pressure to publish Omagh bomb report - inquiry

A public inquiry into the Omagh bombing heard evidence that Baroness Nuala O’Loan resisted “high-level” political pressure not to publish her critical report on the investigation. Martin Bridger, an investigator for the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland (PONI), testified on Thursday about the dissident republican car bombing on August 15, 1998, which killed 29 people, including a pregnant woman expecting twins. The inquiry also addressed claims made in 2001 by undercover agent Kevin Fulton that he had warned RUC handlers three days before the attack. Bridger said O’Loan told him that the then Northern Ireland secretary John Reid sought to discourage publication. He described working late into the night and said the pressure came from political, police and media sources.