The North's Policing Board is to call in a senior police officer from Britain to oversee the Omagh bombing investigation. Det Supt Brian McArthur remains as Senior Investigating Officer with operational responsibility and the two officers will work in parallel.
The incoming officer will be answerable to the board and it is believed he will examine questions concerning resources available to the case. He will be asked to help conclude the investigation, "quality assure" the inquiry, and liaise with the Garda among other duties in addition to reporting to the Policing Board as needed.
The establishment of a second chain of command involving a senior outside police officer acting on the board's instruction is being seen as a neat political compromise which will help reinvigorate the Omagh inquiry. But it is also a significant development which boosts the standing of the Policing Board which was facing its stiffest test in its short history.
Speaking immediately after the meeting, Mr Sammy Wilson of the DUP told The Irish Times: "Most of the important recommendations contained in the Ombudsman's report have been rejected."
"Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary will be appointing someone to act as a consultant to us, a type of quality control consultant and will have no operational control at all." He said the board was calling for a review of the Ombudsman's office.
Referring to the report produced at last night's meeting, Mr Joe O'Byrne, an SDLP board member said: "The report addresses the lessons that have to be learnt from the Omagh bomb inquiry. The board is making a senior appointment to report on progress relating to the investigation. He will be directly responsible for reporting to the board and the board will in turn seek to have his recommendations implemented through the Chief Constable and down to the investigation team."
He added that the new external appointee would work as a "co-equal" with the existing Senior Investigating Officer, Det Supt Brian McArthur, to make sure that the recommendations contained in the RUC's internal review of the Omagh investigation are implemented.
In what is seen as a counter-balance measure directed at the Ombudsman's office Mr O'Byrne confirmed: "The board want all policing reports to be fully checked for factual details before they are circulated. We recognise that there were no proper protocols in place before now."
He added: "The board is stating that it is happy to consider a review of the Ombudsman's office as part of the Criminal Justice Review process. I think it's fair to say that the main body of the report is largely [about] learning the lessons of the Omagh bombing investigation and is largely directed at the Chief Constable. The last section is redressing the perceived difficulties unionists have with the Ombudsman's report."
He said the board had worked arduously for three days to arrive at a considered positions "and it has done that".
He concluded: "We in the SDLP are happy that the board has been responsible and balanced in the way that it has examined all the issues."