There will never be a successful prosecution over the Omagh bombing unless those who know who did it stand up in court and identify the culprits, the PSNI chief constable said today.
Sir Hugh Orde defended the Police Service of Northern Ireland against criticism following the acquittal yesterday of Sean Hoey on 29 murder charges and a host of other terrorist offences.
He insisted his investigating officers had done their level best with the "imperfect product" passed on to them following the original investigation by the Royal Ulster Constabulary when Sir Ronnie Flanagan was chief constable.
Sir Hugh said the PSNI had mounted a fresh investigation when asked to do so by the police ombudsman following a damning report into the investigation led by Sir Ronnie.
He said: "People out there know who did this. There is a lot of intelligence but intelligence is not evidence. In my judgment, the only way we will see a successful prosecution in a criminal court is if people stand up and say 'This was committed by X and I will tell you how it happened'.
"If they do that they will have my total support and total protection."
The Chief Constable conceded the judgment by Mr Justice Weir was "a severe criticism of a number of areas".
Two of his officers who were accused by the judge of lying in court are the subject of an investigation by the Police Ombudsman. The investigation was
begun during the trial at the request of the judge and could lead to prosecution of the officers.
Sir Hugh revealed he had begun an immediate review of all cases involving low copy number DNA evidence after its use was rejected in the trial. The technique enables the analysis of a small number of cells.
The PSNI chief insisted his team had done its very best to win a conviction and had put together a case which the Director of Public Prosecutions agreed should be taken to court.
PA