Omagh report to remain unpublished

A secret Government report on Garda intelligence handling at the time of the Omagh bomb must be made public, the Labour Party…

A secret Government report on Garda intelligence handling at the time of the Omagh bomb must be made public, the Labour Party leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, said last night.

Mr Rabbitte called on the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, to publish the Nally Report into anti-terror operations before the 1998 atrocity after a suspended Donegal garda was cleared of corruption.

Det Sgt John White, from Ballybofey, was acquitted on Tuesday at Letterkenny Circuit Court of three charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice and three of making false statements.

The garda claimed a "Real IRA" informer alerted him before the 1998 attack about a car which was to be used in a bombing.

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He said he passed the warning on to a senior officer but it was not conveyed to police in Northern Ireland.

The confidential Nally Report examined Det Sgt White's allegations that members of the Garda withheld vital information on "Real IRA" bomb attack plans from what was then the RUC.

But in December 2003, Mr McDowell told the Dáil that the Nally Report found no evidence to support any of the officer's claims. The following February he promised to make an edited copy of the report public after the DPP had pursued charges against Det Sgt White.

In response to Mr Rabbitte's call, the Department of Justice said last night that notwithstanding Tuesday's court outcome, other criminal proceedings remained outstanding against Det Sgt White. Publication of the report did not arise until those proceedings were disposed of.