logo
Omagh inquiry seeks secret 15-year-old transcript from Commons archive

Omagh inquiry seeks secret 15-year-old transcript from Commons archive

The allegation is thought to have been made during a private session of the Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee almost 16 years ago, on November 11 2009.
Conservative MP Simon Hoare warned there was 'no wriggle room' in Parliament's rules to hand over the information to the inquiry without MPs' say-so, because it previously went 'unreported'.
Commons committees can refrain from reporting evidence in certain circumstances, for example, if it contains information which is prejudicial to the public interest.
MPs tasked the Commons Privileges Committee with looking at the 2009 transcript.
This seven-member group has until October 30 to decide whether to report and publish the evidence, which was originally given to the House by former senior police officer Norman Baxter.
'It is very hard for the House to decide whether or not to release evidence it has not seen and cannot see before the decision is made,' Mr Hoare warned.
'It is particularly difficult in this case, as that evidence may contain sensitive information.'
The North Dorset MP added that the Privileges Committee 'might simply decide to publish it'.
Chairman of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry Lord Turnbull (PA)
But the agreed motion will give the committee power to make an alternative recommendation 'on the desirability or otherwise of the release of the evidence to the Omagh Bombing Inquiry'.
Privileges Committee chairman Alberto Costa, the Conservative MP for South Leicestershire, told MPs that his organisation 'stands ready to deal with this matter'.
The independent inquiry chaired by Lord Turnbull will consider whether the Omagh bombing 'could reasonably have been prevented by UK state authorities'.
The dissident republican bomb exploded in the Co Tyrone town on August 15 1998, killing 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins.
Mr Hoare agreed with DUP MP for Strangford Jim Shannon, who was born in Omagh, after he told the Commons that 'justice' should be at the 'forefront of all right honourable and honourable members' minds during this process'.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Tributes paid to former Edinburgh Conservative group leader Christine Richard
Tributes paid to former Edinburgh Conservative group leader Christine Richard

Scotsman

time31 minutes ago

  • Scotsman

Tributes paid to former Edinburgh Conservative group leader Christine Richard

Tributes have been paid to former Edinburgh Tory group leader Christine Richard, who has died, aged 82. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Mrs Richard was a colourful and outspoken figure at the City Chambers, a councillor for 12 years and group leader for four of these. Former Tory councillor Lindsay Walls said: "She was a very efficient woman, a good debater in the council chamber, very bubbly and had good connections - she knew a lot of people." Former councillor Christine Richard has died, aged 82 | supplied Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mrs Richard was first elected councillor for Murrayfield in 1984 and served as leader of the Tory group from 1989 until 1993. In 1992 she received an OBE for public service. And she stood unsuccessfully in the first elections for the Scottish Parliament as Tory candidate in East Lothian in 1999. But she later quit the party and joined Labour. She died peacefully on July 10. Her daughter Fiona Fahey was her carer for the last five years. Mrs Richard was born in Yorkshire to a Swiss father and an English mother. She went to Ilkley Grammar School, but instead of going on to university had to get a job and help look after the family after her father died. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She married her first husband, Len, a company chief executive, when she was 21. He was 17 years older and had three sons from his previous marriage. Fiona said: "She took on my dad's three children and then had me, so by 22, she was running a house, working, and had four children." The family moved around quite a bit and came to Edinburgh around 1970, when Len was appointed to printers Morrison & Gibb. Christine Richard with fellow Conservative Malcolm Rifkind on Calton Hill Edinburgh in May 1992. | TSPL Fiona said her mother was always quick to get involved in new situations. 'She very much plunged herself into whatever community she ended up in.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But a few years later the marriage broke up and she married stockbroker John Richard, who had four children, one of them now the Duchess of Northumberland. Mrs Richard was already active in the Conservative Party, as well as working. She held several posts as personal assistant, including to merchant banker Angus Grossart. And later she taught business skills and mentored women who were setting up their own businesses. Her election to Edinburgh District Council came just as Labour won control of the authority from the Conservatives, so she was in opposition all of her time on the council. But she played an energetic part in city politics, including enthusiastic support for the reopening of the former Empire Theatre as the Festival Theatre. Christine Richard was Tory group leader in Edinburgh from 1989 until 1993. Picture: Justin Spittle. | TSPL In 1992, she admitted making nuisance phone calls to her husband's ex-wife and was admonished by the court. An attempt to oust her as group leader failed, but she stood down from the post the following year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She left the Tories and joined Labour in 2002, when Tony Blair was prime minister. Fiona recalled: "She said she stayed in the same place but the parties moved.' She did not seek re-election under her new colours, but she did act as agent for the late Labour councillor Liz Maginnis at the 2007 council elections. And Fiona said another friend was the late Margo MacDonald. 'They had great fun together. They would always pretend to be the worst enemies, but they were the best of friends.' Mrs Richard owned a racehorse, Tre Bonkers, which Fionas said 'won a few trophies'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And after she left the council, she wrote a novel 'Whitewalls' - described as 'a Scottish family saga' - which was published in 2009. Fiona said her mother remained active, out and about, attending events and going to the ballet up until Covid, but after that 'never got back out on the road properly' though she remained 'very witty and chirpy and funny'. 'She did a lot of good, she was quite fearless, she lived her life to the full and she was a very kind, very generous woman. She was passionate about what she did and a real grafter. She was a real character, brimming with stories and very much loved.' The funeral will be at Warriston crematorium on Tuesday, August 5, at 2pm. And an event is planned for the Festival Theatre later in the year to celebrate her life.

Moment of silence held to mark anniversary of Southport murders
Moment of silence held to mark anniversary of Southport murders

The Independent

time2 hours ago

  • The Independent

Moment of silence held to mark anniversary of Southport murders

Southport, Merseyside, is observing a three-minute silence at 3pm on Tuesday to mark the first anniversary of the devastating murders of three young girls. Axel Rudakubana killed nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, six-year-old Bebe King, and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, who were attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. Rudakubana also attempted to murder eight other children and two adults. Widespread violent disorder followed the attack in the seaside town. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch have expressed sorrow and solidarity with the victims' families and the Southport community. The community says it is focusing on positive rebuilding, with plans for legacy gardens and a new playground in memory of the victims, and encouraging donations to local causes.

South Norfolk Council leader defends former HQ demolition plan
South Norfolk Council leader defends former HQ demolition plan

BBC News

time3 hours ago

  • BBC News

South Norfolk Council leader defends former HQ demolition plan

Plans to demolish a former council headquarters so the site can be used for housing have been defended by the authority's in Long Stratton had campaigned for the former South Norfolk District Council HQ to be used as a "community asset".The council sold the building to its own development company instead, and its Conservative leader Daniel Elmer said the authority had "a legal and moral duty" to get the best price for the council's planning committee is expected to approve demolition of the building on Wednesday. South Norfolk House – which is in Long Stratton – has sat empty since the council moved to a new building at the Broadland Business Park on the outskirts of Norwich in authority later agreed to sell the building to its own housing development company, Big Sky, for an undisclosed fee. However, the deal was stalled by uncertainty surrounding the site, as campaigners tried and failed to give the building protection from demolition by getting it listed town council said "it could be repurposed to provide much needed infrastructure". Long Stratton's Labour district councillor, Georgina Race, said private investors had offered to buy the building to use part of it as an arts centre, with the rest available for "community purposes".She added that 1,800 homes were already planned for the town and it did not need more said: "What we need is for somewhere for the community to go to and have a community building. "We've got a village hall built in 1906, when the residents in Long Stratton totalled about 500 people. We've now got 4,000 people."Resident Paul Rochester said the "vast majority" of people in the town wanted the building – which is 49 years old – to be used as a community space."It's a huge site [there's] so much potential within the building itself. It just beggars belief as to why it should be levelled." But Elmer said it was "a taxpayer-owned building, it belongs to all the residents of south Norfolk".He insisted the private investors' deal did not offer "proof of funds" and the council had "a legal and moral duty to get the best return for the taxpayer off of that site".Elmer added that the dispute over the future of the building had cost the authority about £250,000 a year to maintain the also said he was unsure what kind of housing the site would be used for, should the building be demolished.A report advises members of the council's planning committee go give the go-ahead to demolition. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store