🔗 Share this article Government Rule Out Public Probe into Birmingham Bar Attacks Ministers have decided against initiating a open investigation into the IRA's 1974 Birmingham pub explosions. This Horrific Event On 21 November 1974, twenty-one civilians were murdered and 220 wounded when bombs were set off at the Mulberry Bush pub and Tavern in the Town establishments in Birmingham, in an assault largely thought to have been carried out by the Irish Republican Army. Judicial Consequences Nobody has been sentenced over the incidents. In 1991, 6 defendants had their convictions reversed after serving more than 16 years in prison in what stands as one of the most severe miscarriages of justice in UK history. Relatives Campaign for Justice Families have long fought for a open probe into the bombings to discover what the authorities knew at the time of the tragedy and why no one has been held accountable. Government Response The minister for security, Dan Jarvis, announced on Thursday that while he had sincere sympathy for the families, the government had decided “after thorough review” it would not establish an inquiry. Jarvis said the government thinks the reconciliation commission, set up to investigate fatalities associated with the Northern Ireland conflict, could examine the Birmingham incidents. Campaigners Respond Advocate Julie Hambleton, whose 18-year-old sister Maxine was killed in the attacks, commented the decision indicated “the administration don't care”. The sixty-two-year-old has long fought for a open inquiry and stated she and other bereaved families had “no intention” of taking part in the investigative panel. “We see no genuine impartiality in the commission,” she remarked, explaining it was “like them marking their own performance”. Demands for Document Disclosure For years, grieving families have been calling for the disclosure of documents from intelligence agencies on the event – particularly on what the authorities was aware of prior to and after the attack, and what evidence there is that could lead to prosecutions. “The whole UK government system is opposed to our relatives from ever discovering the facts,” she stated. “Exclusively a legally mandated judicial open probe will grant us access to the papers they assert they do not possess.” Official Powers A statutory public inquiry has specific legal powers, including the power to oblige witnesses to testify and provide details connected to the investigation. Prior Investigation An investigation in 2019 – fought for bereaved families – determined the those killed were unlawfully killed by the Provisional IRA but did not establish the identities of those responsible. Hambleton stated: “The security services told the coroner at the time that they have zero files or evidence on what continues to be the UK's most prolonged open mass murder of the 1900s, but currently they aim to force us to participate of this new commission to disclose evidence that they claim has never existed”. Political Criticism Liam Byrne, the MP for the local constituency, labeled the cabinet's ruling as “deeply, deeply disheartening”. In a statement on Twitter, Byrne said: “After so much period, so much grief, and so many failures” the relatives merit a mechanism that is “impartial, judicially directed, with comprehensive capabilities and unafraid in the quest for the truth.” Continuing Sorrow Discussing the families' enduring pain, Hambleton, who chairs the Justice 4 the 21, stated: “No relative of any horror of any type will ever have closure. It is unattainable. The grief and the grief continue.”