The Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland Mrs Nuala O'Loan was tonight threatened with legal action by representatives of senior officers and rank and file members of the police force in Northern Ireland.
As relatives of the Omagh bomb victims hit out at plans for the future investigation into the atrocity, the Police Association said they intended to apply to the High Court for a judicial review of her report which was devastatingly critical of the probe, and Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan's leadership.
The body which represents all 11,500 officers belonging to the new police service claimed her report was inaccurate and unfair, and that she had failed to take steps to right the wrongs which they felt had been done.
Chairman Mr Jimmy Spratt declared tonight: "It is a matter of deep regret to the police association that it should have to resort to legal proceedings. Unfortunately there seems to be no alternative."
With a senior British officer being called in to oversee the inquiry which is now being headed up by two detectives with equal status, some of the families claimed the move had failed to raise lingering hopes of finally bringing the terrorists to justice.
The Northern Ireland Policing Board recommendations which fell short of Mrs O'Loan's call for an outside officer to take total charge of a fresh investigation with a completely new team, are to be considered by the relatives next week.
But Mr Kevin Skelton, whose wife Philomena was among the 29 people killed in the August l998 atrocity, declared: "Everything humanly possible should be done to bring these people to justice, but the way they are going about it I see no prospect of that happening."
An assistant or deputy Chief Constable from Britain is to be appointed to oversee and quality assure the inquiry, and he will report to the policing board. He will have no operational control.
The advisory role of Detective Chief Supt Philip Jones from Merseyside, who was appointed by Sir Ronnie Flanagan, the Northern Ireland Chief Constable, has been upgraded and he will now work alongside Supt Brian McArthur who retains operational command.
Sir Ronnie had resisted calls for any more outside officers to be drafted in, and although he said he had no difficulty with their terms of reference he will be clearly unhappy that the board did not back him.
Mrs O'Loan admitted she had reservations, but accepted that the proposals represented a genuine attempt to move the investigation forward.
But some of the relatives, already angry and disillusioned over the failure to catch the bombers, have their doubts and this initiative by the board has done nothing to close the deep rift between the Ombudsman's office and the Chief Constable.
Mr Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan was killed, said: "They talk about too many cooks spoiling the broth. Nobody is going to know who is doing what. The authority of everybody involved is going to be undermined, because nobody knows who is in charge."
PA