Pressure on police over Omagh bombing as two men found liable for second time Spokesman Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan was killed, said: "We have held people to account for Omagh but we will now write to the chief constable to see if there is any way people could be brought before the criminal courts. That's really what we wanted in the first place and sadly it was left up to the families to get a result and to hold people to account for this crime. He said it was "scandalous" that so much money, estimated to be "tens of millions" had been spent to bring justice in the case. Twenty-nine people, including a woman pregnant with twins, died when the dissident republican car bomb ripped through the Co Tyrone market town on August 15 1998. More than 200 were injured in the blast. In a landmark case in 2009 Murphy, Daly, and two others, Real IRA chief Michael McKevitt and Liam Campbell, were found liable for the bombing in a civil action and were ordered to pay £1.6 million in damages. Murphy and Daly successfully appealed the ruling in 2011 but were ordered to face a retrial. That retrial delivered the same outcome in the same court, with judge Mr Justice John Gillen ruling the men were responsible. Neither man was in court for the judgment and both had declined to give evidence during the trial. Mr Justice Gillen said the case against them, which was primarily based on mobile phone evidence, was "overwhelming." He added: "The barrier of time has not served to disguise the enormity of this crime, the wickedness of its perpetrators and the grief of those who must bear its consequences," he said. Even 15 years on, nothing can dilute the pulsing horror of what happened. Lord Brennan QC, representing the families, said the bereaved relatives were determined that the damages would be paid. "Enforcement will be pursued with vigour here and in other relevant jurisdiction," he said. Solicitor for the families Matthew Jury said the Omagh bombers had not furthered any cause. "It was a massacre of the innocent that left a scar on families, their community and their country that has not healed," he said. By bringing this civil action, their victims showed that they will not be intimidated and that justice will be done. McKevitt, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence in the Irish Republic for directing terrorism, and Campbell, who recently successfully fought extradition proceedings to Lithuania on arms smuggling charges, failed in their bids in 2011 to overturn the Omagh civil judgment. They are now seeking to have their case heard in the European Court of Human Rights.