ONE OF the men accused of the Omagh bomb gave selective explanations for suspected explosive materials found at his home, it was stated in court yesterday by a Garda witness.
The accused in question, Liam Campbell, also denied a diary and mobile phone recovered in the raid belonged to him, a detective said.
The convicted terrorist and four other men are being sued by six families who believe they were responsible for the blast which killed 29 people and injured hundreds more.Garda testimonies are being heard by Judge Conal Gibbons in the presence of Mr Justice Declan Morgan, who has presided over the case in Belfast Crown Court but has no judicial powers in Dublin.
Det Garda Anthony Hearty said Campbell adopted a “no response” and “no reply” attitude to interrogation and gave selective explanations to some of the exhibits recovered from his home which were shown to him under questioning.
The investigating officer said Campbell first denied any knowledge of tubing – similar to that used by the Real IRA for improvised bombs – found at his home, but later claimed he got it at a scrap yard to be used for petrol and diesel.
The accused said he bought the disposable face masks in Jonesboro, Co Armagh, days before his arrest, to be used for weeding his garden, according to the detective.
Asked about walkie-talkies and a CB radio, he made no reply but when pressed about insulating tape, similar to that used for improvised bombs, he denied ownership.
“His reply was: ‘That tape is not mine’, ” Det Garda Hearty told the hearing, sitting at the District Court in central Dublin.
Michael McKevitt, the alleged leader of the Real IRA, Campbell, said to be his number two, Colm Murphy, Séamus McKenna and Séamus Daly all deny any involvement in the massacre in the Co Tyrone town in August 1998.
Campbell insisted other items seized in the raid, including a mobile phone, did not belong to him. “That’s not my diary, I’ve never seen the phone before,” it is alleged he said.
Det Garda Hearty added: “He was offered the opportunity to deny he was a member of the IRA and made no reply to that.”
Campbell was jailed for eight years in 2004 on two counts of membership of the Real IRA.