🔗 Share this article Officials Rule Out Public Probe into Birmingham Pub Attacks Ministers have rejected the idea of establishing a open inquiry into the Provisional IRA's 1974 Birmingham city pub explosions. The Horrific Event On 21 November 1974, twenty-one individuals were lost their lives and two hundred twenty hurt when explosive devices were exploded at the Mulberry Bush pub and Tavern in the Town venues in Birmingham, in an assault largely thought to have been planned by the Provisional IRA. Judicial Consequences Not a single person has been convicted for the incidents. Back in 1991, 6 individuals had their guilty verdicts reversed after spending over 16 years in jail in what remains one of the most severe failures of the legal system in British history. Families Fight for Truth Loved ones have for years campaigned for a open probe into the attacks to discover what the state was aware of at the time of the tragedy and why not a single person has been prosecuted. Government Response The minister for security, Dan Jarvis, said on recently that while he had profound sympathy for the loved ones, the government had determined “after detailed review” it would not establish an inquiry. Jarvis stated the administration thinks the reconciliation commission, set up to look into deaths associated with the Troubles, could look into the Birmingham bombings. Activists React Activist Julie Hambleton, whose teenage sister Maxine was lost her life in the attacks, commented the statement indicated “the government don't care”. The 62-year-old has long fought for a national probe and explained she and other bereaved families had “no intention” of engaging in the commission. “We see no real independence in the panel,” she remarked, explaining it was “equivalent to them grading their own homework”. Demands for Document Disclosure For years, bereaved relatives have been calling for the publication of papers from government bodies on the event – particularly on what the state was aware of before and after the incident, and what proof there is that could bring about prosecutions. “The entire British establishment is resisting our families from ever knowing the truth,” she declared. “Exclusively a official judge-led open inquiry will give us entry to the documents they state they do not possess.” Legal Powers A legally mandated national probe has specific official authorities, including the authority to oblige witnesses to appear and reveal information associated with the investigation. Earlier Hearing An inquest in 2019 – campaigned for bereaved families – concluded the victims were unlawfully killed by the IRA but did not determine the names of those accountable. Hambleton stated: “Intelligence agencies informed the presiding official that they have absolutely no records or evidence on what continues to be Britain's most prolonged unsolved atrocity of the last century, but now they intend to pressure us to engage of this investigative body to disclose information that they claim has never existed”. Political Reaction Liam Byrne, the MP for the Birmingham area, described the cabinet's announcement as “deeply, deeply disappointing”. Through a announcement on X, Byrne wrote: “After so much time, such immense suffering, and so many let-downs” the relatives merit a process that is “independent, judge-led, with comprehensive capabilities and unafraid in the pursuit for the reality.” Continuing Pain Discussing the families' persistent pain, Hambleton, who chairs the campaign group, remarked: “Not a single family of any horror of any type will ever have resolution. It is impossible. The pain and the anguish persist.”