🔗 Share this article

Authorities have decided against launching a open investigation into the IRA's 1974 Birmingham bar explosions.

The Devastating Event

On 21 November 1974, 21 people were lost their lives and 220 hurt when explosive devices were detonated at the Mulberry Bush pub and Tavern in the Town venues in Birmingham, in an incident widely believed to have been carried out by the IRA.

Judicial Fallout

Not a single person has been found guilty for the bombings. In 1991, 6 defendants had their guilty verdicts reversed after spending more than 16 years in jail in what remains one of the worst failures of justice in UK history.

Families Campaign for Justice

Families have for decades pushed for a open investigation into the explosions to discover what the state was aware of at the time of the event and why no one has been prosecuted.

Official Response

The minister for security, Dan Jarvis, stated on Thursday that while he had profound compassion for the relatives, the government had determined “after thorough consideration” it would not commit to an investigation.

Jarvis said the government thinks the newly established commission, established to investigate fatalities connected to the Troubles, could investigate the Birmingham bombings.

Activists Respond

Advocate Julie Hambleton, whose 18-year-old sister Maxine was murdered in the explosions, commented the decision indicated “the authorities show no concern”.

The 62-year-old has long pushed for a national probe and said she and other bereaved families had “no desire” of engaging in the investigative panel.

“There’s no real independence in the panel,” she said, adding it was “equivalent to them grading their own work”.

Demands for Document Release

Over the years, bereaved loved ones have been requesting the disclosure of files from security services on the attack – particularly on what the state knew before and after the attack, and what information there is that could bring about legal action.

“The entire state apparatus is opposed to our relatives from ever knowing the truth,” she stated. “Exclusively a official judicial national investigation will provide us entry to the documents they state they lack.”

Official Capabilities

A statutory open inquiry has particular legal powers, such as the power to oblige participants to appear and disclose details connected to the inquiry.

Previous Investigation

An hearing in 2019 – campaigned for bereaved families – ruled the victims were illegally slain by the IRA but did not determine the names of those responsible.

Hambleton stated: “Government bodies informed the presiding official that they have absolutely no records or documentation on what continues to be the UK's longest open atrocity of the 20th century, but at present they intend to push us to participate of this investigative body to share evidence that they claim has not been present”.

Political Reaction

Liam Byrne, the Member of Parliament for the local constituency, described the government’s decision as “extremely disappointing”.

Through a message on social media, Byrne stated: “After such a long time, so much suffering, and so many disappointments” the families merit a mechanism that is “autonomous, judicially directed, with complete authorities and courageous in the search for the truth.”

Enduring Pain

Speaking of the families' enduring grief, Hambleton, who leads the Justice 4 the 21, remarked: “Not a single family of any horror of any type will ever have closure. It doesn’t exist. The pain and the sorrow persist.”