1. Letter to the Chairman of the Committee from
Rt Hon Shaun Woodward MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Thank you for your letter of 15 July enclosing a
copy of the first report of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
into the Omagh bombing.
I note that the Committee's concerns centre around
your request for access to Sir Peter Gibson's full, classified
report. I understand the Prime Minister has previously advised
it is not possible to grant this request due to the legal and
national security constraints preventing further disclosure of
the report. As he explained in his letter of 29 June, the published
version of Sir Peter's report omits only the extensive, sensitive
detail of Agency sources, methods and capabilities which must
continue to be protected from unnecessary or unauthorised disclosure
for national security considerations.
I understand that both the Chair of the Intelligence
and Security Committee and Sir Peter Gibson himself have given
their assurances that the published report is entirely consistent
with the full classified version. I trust the Committee will
understand why it is not possible to grant access to the report
and accept the assurances they have been given in relation to
this matter.
25 August 2009
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