Mandelson backs campaign to sue Omagh bombers
Former Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson is donating £10,000 towards a campaign to sue the alleged perpetrators of the Omagh bombing atrocity, it was confirmed today.
Relatives of those killed in the explosion said Mr Mandelson, who resigned from the Government last month, was handing over the fees paid by national newspapers for articles explaining his handling of the Hinduja passports affair.
He has been recruited, with Tory former Ulster Secretary Sir Patrick Mayhew, to front the Omagh Victims’ Legal Trust, which is attempting to raise £1m by August to bring a civil action, which requires a lower burden of proof than criminal proceedings.
A total of 29 people, including a woman heavily pregnant with twins, died when a car bomb ripped through a busy shopping street in Omagh, County Tyrone, on August 15 1998.
Dissident republican paramilitaries in the so-called Real IRA admitted responsibility for the attack.
No-one has ever been charged with the murders, but one man is currently awaiting trial in the Irish Republic on a charge of conspiracy to cause explosions.
Victor Barker, whose son James, 12, was among the dead, said the money was needed before the expiry of the three-year deadline for a civil litigation claim to be lodged.
He said: "We here feel very committed to the cause here, in terms of being able to bring a civil case which will be successful against a number of those we believe to have been either responsible or had a major part to play in this tragedy.
"The case is based upon extremely complex evidence, with masses of paperwork to be got through before a successful claim can be brought.
"Our advice from the lawyers acting for us is we need to have almost £1 million to be able to bring a civil claim successfully."
The case would seek financial compensation for the massacre.
But Mr Barker said: "What this is is an attempt by the relatives to get these people into court to have to answer questions to say and give explanations for what they did on August 15 1998.
"It is a sense of justice and fair play the relatives want to see. Money is of no concern to any of us.
"It is a cry for justice. It is not a symbolic or waving hands’ action. This is a very serious matter as far as the relatives are concerned. Relatives of the victims are determined to ensure that someone has to answer some questions.
"For me, in my position, to continue to live my life having known that my son died in a horrendous way that day, is a very difficult thing to do.
"But I must fight for him and give him the justice which his untimely and murderous death deserves."
