Clarity call on Omagh monitoring

Omagh was the biggest loss of life in a single attack in the Troubles

The government should clarify whether GCHQ was listening to the Omagh bombers' mobile phone calls in "real time", the Victims Commission has said.

The call follows an investigation by the BBC's Panorama programme.

It revealed that the intelligence agency was monitoring Real IRA phone conversations as the bombers drove the device into the town in August 1998.

Bertha McDougall, the current chair of the commission, said the victims' families have unanswered questions.

"At this stage the commission has an open mind on whether there should be a public inquiry or not.

"We intend to form a view on that matter by meeting with families and by urgently meeting with the secretary of state and the justice minister from the Republic," she said.

Twenty-nine people and unborn twins were killed in the attack, which was the worst single atrocity of the Troubles, in Northern Ireland.