No amnesty over Omagh, Blair promises

Updated: 20:16, Tuesday, 29 November 2005

Relatives of the Omagh bomb victims have received assurances from UK Prime Minister Tony Blair that no one connected with the 1998 attack would be granted an amnesty.

1 of 2 Omagh 29 killed in 1998
Omagh
29 killed in 1998

Relatives of the Omagh bomb victims have received assurances from UK Prime Minister Tony Blair that no one connected with the 1998 attack would be granted an amnesty.

Representatives of the 29 victims and those injured in the blast held talks lasting 45 minutes with Mr Blair at 10 Downing Street to press their case for a full cross-border public inquiry.

After the talks, they said Mr Blair had told them an inquiry would be impossible until current civil and criminal court cases arising from the blast were completed.

He did not rule out meeting their request after that point.

Victor Barker, from Surrey, whose 12-year-old son James died at Omagh, said that the families had secured an unequivocal promise that there would be no amnesty for those responsible.

'The assurance we sought was that if there were any members of Sinn Féin or IRA that were involved in the Omagh bomb, they would receive no amnesty' for that attack, Mr Barker said.

The families have been lobbying for five years to meet the Mr Blair.

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