Omagh judge 'should apologise to officers'
The detective in charge of the Omagh bomb inquiry launched a devastating attack on the trial judge today after two police officers he accused of lying were cleared by an official investigation.
Former Chief Superintendent Norman Baxter demanded that Mr Justice Weir retract and apologise, claiming the officers had been grievously and publicly wronged, left humiliated, their reputations shattered and personal integrity dissolved.
Innocent people in a modern democracy should not be subjected to such public castigation, he said.
And he added: "I know that if I, as a crown servant in a senior position of authority, had incorrectly and publicly asserted an individual was lying or involved in 'deliberate and calculated deception', I would have been immediately removed from duty by the Chief Constable."
His criticism followed a decision by the Public Prosecution Service in Belfast that the two officers would not be facing perjury charges. Both were investigated by the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman's Office, who found that part of their evidence which was challenged by Mr Justice Weir was accurate and correct.
The marathon trial ended in December 2007 with the acquittal of Sean Hoey, from South Armagh, who denied murdering the 29 people killed in the Omagh atrocity.
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Former Chief Superintendent Norman Baxter demanded that Mr Justice Weir retract and apologise, claiming the officers had been grievously and publicly wronged, left humiliated, their reputations shattered and personal integrity dissolved.
Innocent people in a modern democracy should not be subjected to such public castigation, he said.
And he added: "I know that if I, as a crown servant in a senior position of authority, had incorrectly and publicly asserted an individual was lying or involved in 'deliberate and calculated deception', I would have been immediately removed from duty by the Chief Constable."
His criticism followed a decision by the Public Prosecution Service in Belfast that the two officers would not be facing perjury charges. Both were investigated by the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman's Office, who found that part of their evidence which was challenged by Mr Justice Weir was accurate and correct.
The marathon trial ended in December 2007 with the acquittal of Sean Hoey, from South Armagh, who denied murdering the 29 people killed in the Omagh atrocity.