THE Police Service of Northern Ireland has confirmed that 14 people considered ‘of interest’ to its now stalled investigation into the Enniskillen bombing were never arrested.
27 individuals had been initially identified by the Historical Enquiries Team following the IRA bomb attack that left 11 dead and 63 injured in 1987 with 13 of those arrested.
But 14 of those people were not arrested because the police could not “identify sufficient evidence” to enable them to be apprehended in connection with the attack.
The latest drawback was revealed in a letter by a senior police officer to the officers of County Fermanagh Grand Orange Lodge.
Almost 30 years on from the attack and the PSNI has also confirmed that it has “no intention to conduct further investigative work unless credible new evidence is available.” 
Furthermore, The Impartial Reporter has learned that the now defunct Historical Enquiries Team has no report for the families of those killed, nor did it identify any new evidential leads during its review over 10 years ago.
And in the letter, seen by this newspaper, the head of the PSNI’s justice branch, added: “Owing to the scale of the original investigation, it is not a straightforward task to generate a meaningful and accurate report either.”
“I cannot at this stage provide you with an estimated timescale for completion other than to say it is likely to be some considerable time before this matter can be concluded,” he wrote. 
County Fermanagh Grand Orange Lodge Grand Master Stuart Brooker said he is “furious” by the response from police and has asked for a meeting with Chief Constable George Hamilton and Justice Minister Claire Sugden. 
“The response from the PSNI is extremely demoralising given that there appears to be a lack of interest in the case from the authorities. We will now seek meetings with the justice minister and chief constable as we have serious questions if there are political and security cover ups involved,” he said. 
Ulster Unionist MP Tom Elliott is calling on “openness, transparency and clarity” from the PSNI. 
“Why were there fourteen other individuals considered to be of interest to the HET review of the original investigation that were not originally arrested and why was this not followed up by the HET or the PSNI? If individuals were deemed to be of interest, was there any follow up with any of them? We could effectively have 14 people who are of interest to the security services about the Enniskillen bombing who have not been questioned to establish if they can provide any information,” he said.
New Secretary of State James Brokenshire was in Enniskillen on Tuesday where he discussed the Enniskillen bombing with Mr. Elliott. Speaking afterwards, he told The Impartial Reporter that he is “very conscious of the issues of the past.”
“I do see this as a priority in how we can move these legacies, they’re termed, I think that’s not often the best term because it’s about people’s lives, it’s about loved ones.”
Mr. Brokenshire said he believes the Stormont House Agreement which provides a framework for dealing with the past “still remains the best way to proceed.”
Asked if he would launch a fresh enquiry into the bombing, Mr. Brokenshire said: “I think the main thing for me is to see how we set up the new bodies. The Historical Investigations Unit, I think, has a very important role to play and why I am looking very intently to how we can move this forward, how we can roll back consensus and for me I think that’s the best way to move things forward.”