UK to hold inquiry into 1998 Omagh bombing

The Northern Ireland secretary has announced that the British government will hold an independent statutory inquiry into the 1998 Omagh bombing.

Chris Heaton-Harris told the House of Commons on Thursday that he was going to launch an inquiry into the atrocity that claimed 29 lives and injured 220 people on 15 August 1998, four months after the Good Friday agreement.

The high court judge ruled in 2021 that the government should carry out a human rights-compliant investigation into the security failings in the buildup to the bombing in the County Tyrone market town.

Justice Horner found that security forces had a real chance of preventing the attack by the Real IRA, a Republican dissident group.

The murder of the Omagh bomb was a horrific terrorist attack committed by the Real IRA and caused untold damage to the families of those who were tragically killed and injured. Its impact was felt not only in Northern Ireland, but across the world, Heaton-Harris said.

After carefully considered the judgment of the high court, I believe that an independent statutory inquiry is the most appropriate form of further investigation to address the grounds identified by the court. He thanked survivors and relatives for their patience.