The British Government has ruled out a public inquiry into the Omagh bombing.
Relatives of some of the victims, who claim the 1998 Real IRA attack could have been prevented but for intelligence failings, reacted with fury to the decision.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden, 21, was among the victims, said: “Over a year ago we gave this Government a report which showed that state agencies had failed and 31 people had died and 250 were injured unnecessarily.”
Announcing her decision, Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers said: “I do not believe that there are sufficient grounds to justify a further review or inquiry above and beyond those that have already taken place or are ongoing.”
Twenty-nine people, including a woman pregnant with twins, died in one of the worst atrocities of the conflict in Northern Ireland when a car bomb left by dissident republicans ripped through the Co Tyrone town just months after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement peace accord.
While no one has been convicted of the crime, four republicans were found liable for the atrocity in a landmark civil case brought by some bereaved relatives and ordered to pay £1.6 million in compensation.
Last month families of some of the victims outlined details of an independent report they commissioned into alleged intelligence failings on both sides of the border in the lead up to the atrocity and with the subsequent criminal investigations.
Ms Villiers said it was not an easy decision to make and all views were carefully considered.
“I believe that the ongoing investigation by the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland is the best way to address any outstanding issues relating to the police investigation into the Omagh attack.
“The fact remains that the Real IRA carried out the bombing in Omagh on 15 August 1998, murdering 29 people and injuring many more. Responsibility is theirs alone. I sincerely hope that the ongoing police investigation will bring to justice those responsible for this brutal crime.
“I have met representatives of the Omagh Support and Self Help Group, as have a number of my predecessors as Secretary of State. I have offered to meet them again to explain my decision further if they wish.”
Representations received by the Secretary of State showed there was support for an inquiry among a number of survivors and families of those killed in the bomb, but others felt that a further inquiry would cause them considerable trauma.
All these views were weighed against other factors, including the series of previous inquiries and the current investigation by the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Office said.
But Mr Gallagher described the reasons given by Ms Villiers for ruling out a public inquiry as “trivial”.
He told Sky News: “Should we be denied truth and justice because other people don’t want it?”
Referring to his belief that the bomb attack could have been prevented, he said: “The reality is that Aiden need not have died.”
He added: “Both the British and Irish governments failed to protect the human rights of those people.”
And he said that victims’ families would be mounting a legal challenge to the decision by Ms Villiers.