Relatives of people killed in the Omagh bomb tonight demanded a full public inquiry after being given details of the ombudsman's report on the Royal Ulster Constabulary investigation into the 1998 attack which killed 29 people.

Lawrence Rush, whose wife died in the bombing, branded the Royal Ulster Constabulary "a shambles" and said the sooner Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan went, the better.

Mr Rush said: "We are talking about the police breaking their own code of conduct and not in fact defending the people. Their job is to defend and serve the people and they have abysmally gone down on that."

Attacking the Chief Constable, he said: "I spoke to Mr Flanagan just about 14 days ago when he assured me of everything opposite to that which was said here."

Mr Rush said the vast majority of police were "decent ordinary folk" but they had been badly let down by those at the top.

"I think there are police who have withheld evidence. We are not talking about negligence, we are talking about withholding evidence. Negligence is a civil action but withholding evidence is a criminal action - that is what it should be treated as, a criminal action."

"There is absolutely no reason why Omagh should have happened. The police have been in dereliction of their duty to protect my wife and the citizens of Omagh and Northern Ireland," said Mr. Rush. "Special Branch are a law unto themselves and it's time this was rooted out."

Kevin Skelton, who also lost his wife in the bombing, called for a public inquiry. "I am very shocked. I feel absolutely betrayed," he said.

A letter sent by RUC Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan to the Sunday People newspaper dismissing the relevance of a tip-off about the impending bomb in Omagh in 1998 has been described by the Police Ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan, as having been "factually wrong".

Sir Ronnie Flanagan concluded that the tip-off about the bomb given by "Kevin Fulton", an RUC Special Branch informer was ‘retrospective’ and ‘found to be without any foundation whatsoever”.

However, the Ombudsman's report, published today said the tip-off "was not retrospective and has been found to have substance".

The report is a damning inditement of the role of the Royal Ulster Constabulary's Special Branch in failing to take appropriate action following two warnings of an impending attack before the Omagh bombing.

The report stated that RUC Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan's flawed judgment in the Omagh bomb inquiry significantly reduced the chances of catching the Real IRA killers.

The detectives who headed the investigation into the Omagh bomb atrocity were also accused of failing the 29 victims and their families.

In the devastating report into the investigation, Ms O'Loan accused senior management in the Royal Ulster Constabulary of being "defensive and uncooperative".

She also claimed officers who led the police inquiry into the Real IRA bomb had been let down by:

-defective leadership

-poor judgment

-a lack of urgency.

Nobody in Northern Ireland has been charged with the murders.

And in an unprecedented attack on his leadership, Mrs O`Loan lambasted the Chief Constable for his judgment.

She said: "The Police Ombudsman has concluded with great sadness that the judgment and leadership of the Chief Constable and Assistant Chief Constable has been seriously flawed. As a result of that, the chances of detaining and convicting the Omagh bombers has been significantly reduced."

"The victims, their families, the people of Omagh and officers of the RUC were let down by defective leadership, poor judgment and a lack of urgency," the report claimed.

Sir Ronnie Flanagan and senior RUC officers also came under fire for being "defensive and at times uncooperative" with her inquiry into the investigation of the bomb.

Mrs O`Loan attacked the role of Special Branch officers, criticising them for failing to pass on information warning of threatened dissident republican terror strikes, including one which was to take place in Omagh on the day the Real IRA bombed the town.

The report confirmed police received two prior warnings about plans to attack Omagh - the first coming on August 4 1998, 11 days before the car bomb.

The anonymous caller warned of an "unspecified" attack on police in the town on August 15, naming a number of individuals.

However, Special Branch was accused of taking only limited action, telling the officer who took the call that those named by the caller were "only smugglers".

No information was passed on to the Sub-Divisional Commander - a decision which the Ombudsman`s report believed was in contravention of the RUC Force Order.

The Ombudsman noted RUC Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan told their investigative team he was satisfied the anonymous caller`s information was not relevant to the bomb.

However when the Sub Divisional Commander in Omagh was shown the intelligence two years later on the anniversary of the explosion, the report noted he said "he would have set up vehicle checkpoints".

More crucial however was the RUC's reaction to a warning given by an undercover agent three days before the bomb. RUC informer 'Kevin Fulton' also alerted his handler in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) that terrorists were "about to move something north (of the Irish border) over the next few days" and identified a dissident republican.

Fulton identified the bomber and the vehicle to be used in the attack. However, no record of the meeting between Fulton and his handler could be found in RUC Special Branch.

This was despite RUC Criminal Investigation Division (CID) claims that the information was passed on to RUC Special Branch.

The Ombudsman said it was satisfied the intelligence was passed to Special Branch and said the officers` claims they did not receive document represented "at the very least, a very serious breakdown in communication".

The report also contradicted claims during the investigation by the Chief Constable, Special Branch and CID officers that Kevin Fulton was an unreliable source.

Ms O'Loan said there was no evidence to support any claim that he was regarded by the RUC at the time the information was received as unreliable.

Sir Ronnie Flanagan replied at a news conference this afternoon where he said both he and the RUC were considering legal action to quash the report.

The chief constable said he considered the report to represent neither a "fair, thorough or rigorous investigation".

He added: "I consider it to be a report of an erroneous conclusion reached in advance and then a desperate attempt to find anything that might happen to fit in with that, and a determination to exclude anything which does not fit that erroneous conclusion."

Key recommendations of the police ombudsman following the RUC's handling of the Omagh bombing include:

-That an investigation team led by a senior investigating officer, independent of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), should be asked to conduct the Omagh bomb inquiry.

-That an officer in overall command from an outside police force be appointed to carry out the investigation of the potentially linked terrorist incidents identified in the Omagh bomb review report.

-That senior investigating officers in the Omagh bomb investigation and all other investigations must be given appropriate access to all relevant intelligence.

-That HM's Inspector of Constabulary be invited to carry out a review of terrorist linked murder inquiries, including sharing of intelligence between special branch and CID.

-That a review takes place into the role and function of Special Branch to ensure there are clear structures and procedures for the management of intelligence between special branch and other parts of the force.

-That the PSNI adopt the policy of the association of Chief Police Officers with regard to murder review.