By 
THE chairman of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry has ruled that so-called special advocates will not be permitted in forthcoming hearings relating to whether the 1998 atrocity could have been prevented.
Lord Alun Turnbull makes the decision in a 76-page document which has been published on the Omagh Bombing Inquiry website.
It follows arguments by legal representatives representing the government and other state agencies, and those acting on behalf of the families of the 31 people killed on August 15, 1998, as well as those injured.
Special advocates are appointed to represent anyone excluded from a closed hearing, including the public and affected families and their legal representatives. They would be able to view sensitive material and represent the interests of anyone excluded.
Most of the legal representatives for Family Core Participants in the Omagh Bombing Inquiry requested the appointment of core participants.
But Lord Turnbull explained that counsel to the inquiry are well-placed to raise any relevant matters that the family and Survivor Core Participants wish to have addressed during closed hearings.
He also dismissed the claim that without a special advocate, family and survivor core participants would be at an unfair disadvantage in comparison to State Core Participants.
Lord Turnbull in his ruling also explains that the level of experience and expertise present within the inquiry legal team, whose function is to support the chair, will be sufficient to meet the need for public reassurance in the independence and effectiveness of the inquiry.
The ruling concludes that the appointment of special advocates would duplicate the work of counsel to the inquiry and, to some extent, that of the lawyers acting for the family and survivor core participants.
The inquiry will next sit on the week of March 9, 2026, when it look at the bombing of Omagh, including the construction of the bomb, the movements of the car containing the bomb, warning calls, use of telephones and scientific evidence.
