No bomb squad dispatched, Omagh Bombing Inquiry hears

A series of logbook entries from the day of the bombing were also highlighted on Wednesday, which prompted MacMullan to say there was no attempt by the army to "re-write history".

The inquiry was shown passages, timed and dated, from the army's daily occurrence log, as well the watch keeper's logbook.

One entry timestamped at 14:40 BST outlined the army's first recorded knowledge of the bomb threat.

"Overheard on RUC Net RUC HQ Belfast have received warnings over bombs in several towns province-wide including Omagh.

"The Omagh bomb is believed to be in the area of the courthouse.

"It's in the region of 500lbs, it was a Banbridge-type code word."

Mr Greaney KC took issue with some timings, noting that "the expectation is that the document should be contemporaneous and chronological".

MacMullan acknowledged there could have been inaccuracies, but said any errors were likely a a consequence of "human friction at a point of high tension".

"I think this is just ordering a set of sequences and making it follow naturally, I don't think there is anything suspicious at all."

The inquiry also heard about a missing tape, which should have contained a recording of army communications from the moments after the bomb exploded.

"It was missing, Tape One, throughout. We....have checked everywhere else, we do not have sight of that and nobody knows where that tape went," MacMullan said.