In These New Times

NEW evidence has emerged that the Omagh bombing might have been prevented by British security forces.

GCHQ, Britain‘s secret organisation for the interception of electronic communications, recorded conversations between the bombers on their mobile phones as they made their way towards the town to plant their device.

The BBC‘s Panorama programme has established that the calls contained enough clues to raise the alarm that a major operation was under way. If GCHQ had been monitoring the calls live, as Special Branch says it had requested, it’s possible the attack could have been stopped.

The intercepts could also have played a crucial role in bringing the bombers to justice after the attack, but sources told Panorama that not one of the transcripts was ever disclosed to the investigating police.

The bombing, on August 15, 1998, was carried out by the Real IRA, a dissident group opposed to the peace process. Twenty-nine people and two unborn children died in what was the largest single attack during the Troubles.

The BBC investigation found that GCHQ secretly intercepted the terrorists’ mobile phone calls on the day they planted the bomb. What is not yet clear is whether GCHQ’s monitoring staff were listening to the exchanges as they happened — or whether the conversations were recorded automatically, without anyone listening.

Ray White, a former assistant chief constable of the Northern Ireland Police Service, told the BBC that the Special Branch officer responsible for requesting GCHQ’s assistance is “adamant” he had asked for “live” monitoring “primarily for the purpose of triggering a pre-arranged surveillance plan” to stop the attack.

The programme, presented by the reporter John Ware, says if GCHQ’s officers were listening, there were clues in the exchanges they intercepted which should have made them realise they were hearing the prelude to a terror attack.

Among other signs, GCHQ recorded the bombers as they received a call from a known Real IRA commander suspected of involvement in a string of terrorist attacks.