Accused Omagh bomber cleared of all charges

Speaking at Belfast Crown Court, Mr Justice Weir said there had been a "deliberate and calculated deception by police".

He said transcripts of the trial had been sent to the police ombudsman.

In his summary, the judge said he was not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that prosecution submissions showed that all explosive devices were made by one person.

He also said he was not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that fibres found on an explosive device and a mobile home that Mr Hoey lived in matched.

Mr Hoey has been in custody for the last four years.

Speaking after the verdict, Lawrence Rush, whose wife Elizabeth died in the explosion, said the case had been handled disastrously by the police.

"I wouldn't have liked the wrong man to be charged," he said.

"I would need time to think about this, but I would also say I have a case against the RUC for the evidence being destroyed, cross-contaminated, labels changed, packages opened."

A PSNI statement said they would study Mr Justice Weir's judgement in detail and would work to ensure that any organisational or procedural shortcomings were addressed.

"We also await the outcome of a Police Ombudsman investigation into two officers who gave evidence during the trial," it said.

The verdict was delivered at Belfast Crown Court after a trial which lasted a total of 56 days.

During the trial which ended in January, it was revealed that two police witnesses had lied about how they had gathered some of the forensic evidence.

Much of the prosecution case was based on forensic evidence, particularly a type of DNA evidence, called low copy number DNA - a new and sensitive form of testing.

The defence had challenged low copy number DNA and prosecution experts themselves also differed in their evidence as to how reliable they believed it to be.

The trial lasted 10 months and was one of the biggest murder trials in UK legal history.

The families of many of those who died in Omagh on 15 August 1998 travelled to Belfast Crown Court to hear the verdict. Others watched a video-link set up in Omagh College.

In addition to the 29 counts of murder, Sean Hoey was also charged with five counts of conspiracy to murder, four counts of conspiracy to cause an explosion, six counts of causing an explosion and 12 counts of possession of explosive devices.

The oldest victim in the Omagh bomb was 66 and the youngest just 18-months-old.

There was evidence from hundreds of witnesses during the trial and there were more than 500 items of evidence.

Charges were brought against Sean Hoey in 2005, after a review of the forensic and scientific evidence.

A new police inquiry began in May 2002 and followed criticism by the then Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan, of the original investigation by the Royal Ulster Constabulary.