The North's Police Ombudsman, Ms Nuala O'Loan, has responded to criticism of her report into the Omagh bombing inquiry by the Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan.
In an interview on last night's BBC Hearts and Minds programme, Ms O'Loan said she had been "enormously saddened" by Sir Ronnie's reaction.
"I have a duty to put into the public domain the facts which have come to my attention. After all, I have to be concerned about future times."
The Police Ombudsman said the report was "not about crucifying anybody".
However, the Chief Constable, at the end of the day, had to take responsibility for the actions of his service.
Speaking on the same programme, the Chief Constable said there was nothing in Ms O'Loan's report that warranted disciplinary or criminal action against any of his officers.
He also rejected the Ombudsman's allegation that she had been delayed in getting access to his own review of the investigation as well as to vital computer files.
He said some of the material she had asked for had been highly confidential and new Ombudsman's Office staff had had to be vetted first before it could be handed over to them.
Sir Ronnie admitted that there was a flaw in the police's grading service of informers after the agent Kevin Fulton, whom he described as a "Walter-Mitty-type-character", had been graded as an "A1" informer - the most reliable category.
As to Special Branch's failure to pass on some of the information received about an impending paramilitary attack, he said it had to be up to the judgment of experts such as the officers in Special Branch to decide when information needed to be passed on, he said.
Families of the Omagh bomb victims have called on Sir Ronnie to provide factual evidence to refute allegations made in the Ombudsman's report.
Sir Ronnie was understood to have held talks with legal advisers yesterday in an effort to ascertain whether High Court action could be taken to have the report quashed.
Mr Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son, Adrian, was killed in the 1998 atrocity, said it was now vital for the Chief Constable to respond to the report's findings point by point rather than dismiss them categorically.
"He \Sir Ronnie should now do what the lady [Ms O'Loan] has done and respond to every concern she raises. If he thinks there are inaccuracies in the report then he must come out and give evidence to prove what he is saying. He really owes this to the families," Mr Gallagher told The Irish Times.
The families of the 29 people killed in the "Real IRA" bomb are seeking meetings with both the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, in an attempt to have a full independent inquiry into the atrocity set up.
The North's Deputy First Minister and SDLP leader, Mr Mark Durkan, said police had to be held accountable for the alleged mistakes made in the inquiry.
"The Police Ombudsman is one area of accountability. Obviously now the Policing Board is going to be looking at this case specifically at a special meeting in January.
"It will be looking at reports from the Chief Constable as well as the Ombudsman and seeking views from the families of the victims," Mr Durkan concluded.
The Ulster Unionist Environment Minister, Mr Sam Foster, said that even if the RUC had received firm intelligence that there was to be an attack in Omagh and had placed the town under a ring of steel, republicans would no doubt have protested that they were acting in a heavy-handed manner, contrary to the peace process, and intimidating nationalists by their presence.
The DUP's justice spokesman, Mr Ian Paisley jnr, said he believed that at the heart of the Ombudsman's report was the desire "to get the scalp of Special Branch".
There was no way the vague warnings given before the bombing could have prevented it.