OMAGH FAMILIES' £14M DAMAGES CLAIM

Even though south Armagh man Sean Hoey, 38, has been cleared of the murders of the 29 people killed in the attack in August 1998, the civil action is scheduled to begin in Belfast next April.

Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan, 21, was among the victims, said: "We have no choice. Our backs are to the wall."

Father-of-two Mr Hoey, an electrician from the village of Jonesborough, who had been in custody for four years, was acquitted at Belfast Crown Court on Thursday after the trial judge, Mr Justice Weir, delivered a damning assessment of the police handling of the case, especially the forensic science process which resulted in vital DNA evidence being contaminated.

The not guilty verdict means that almost 10 years after the bombing, nobody has yet been convicted of the single worst terrorist atrocity in Northern Ireland.

Mr Hoey's uncle, Colm Murphy, 52, from Dundalk, Co Louth is resisting fresh legal moves to have him re-tried in Dublin on charges connected with Omagh.

The bombing was carried out by the so-called republican dissident group, the Real IRA, and Mr Murphy is one of the five men named by the relatives in the civil action.

Despite the judge's criticism of the police handling of the case, the Public Prosecution Service stood by the decision to charge Mr Hoey.

Senior Police Service of Northern Ireland officers, including Detective Chief Superintendent Norman Baxter who headed up the new inquiry after the initial investigation by the then Royal Ulster Constabulary failed to bring any charges, said they were deeply disappointed by the verdict.

Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde is expected to comment later on the case and the judge's critical remarks.