Police chiefs tonight dropped a legal bid to overturn a damning assessment of their investigation into the Omagh bomb atrocity.
The devastating report issued by Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman Ms Nuala O'Loan on the inquiry into the Real IRA bomb attack which killed 29 people still stands after both sides reached agreement at the High Court in Belfast.
Mrs O'Loan has conceded she should have given former Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan more time before she published the controversial paper in December 2001.
Outside the court, she said: "I'm very pleased because my report still stands.
"The challenge has been withdrawn and I have been very concerned about the Omagh families over the past year, but they can now rest content that the report remains."
Mr Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan died in the Omagh blast, said he was glad the dispute between the police and the ombudsman had been settled.
"The problem with Omagh is we have heard so much about the peripherary but the actual investigation itself hasn't moved forward.
"The focus should be on what everyone wants and that is the people responsible put behind bars," he said. The deputy chairman of the Policing Board Mr Denis Bradley welcomed the settlement, adding it had been unwise to take the matter to court.
"I congratulate all those involved for having the wisdom to put it out of court and put it behind us," he said.
PA