Brandon Lewis – 2021 Statement on the Omagh Bombing

The statement made by Brandon Lewis, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 23 July 2021.

The Omagh bombing was a terrible atrocity that caused untold damage to the families of the 29 people who were tragically killed and the 220 who were injured. The reverberations of that awful event were felt not just in Northern Ireland, but across the world.

I want to put on record my deep regret that the families of those killed and wounded have had to wait so long to find out what happened on that terrible day in 1998. They deserve answers and I have great respect for their patience, grace and determination.

We recognise that today the Court has set out that there are ‘plausible allegations that there was a real prospect of preventing the Omagh bombing’ and that more should be done to investigate this.

The UK Government will take time to consider the judge’s statement and all its recommendations carefully as we wait for the full judgment to be published.