🔗 Share this article Government Deny Public Investigation into Birmingham City Bar Attacks Ministers have decided against establishing a open inquiry into the IRA's 1974 Birmingham bar attacks. The Devastating Event Back on 21 November 1974, twenty-one individuals were murdered and two hundred twenty hurt when bombs were exploded at the Mulberry Bush pub and Tavern in the Town pub venues in Birmingham, in an assault commonly accepted to have been planned by the Irish Republican Army. Legal Aftermath No one has been sentenced over the bombings. In 1991, six men had their convictions quashed after enduring over 16 years in detention in what is considered one of the most severe miscarriages of justice in British history. Families Fight for Answers Families have for decades campaigned for a public probe into the explosions to uncover what the government was aware of at the time of the event and why nobody has been brought to justice. Government Decision The security minister, Dan Jarvis, stated on recently that while he had sincere compassion for the loved ones, the administration had determined “after careful deliberation” it would not authorize an inquiry. Jarvis said the administration thinks the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery, created to look into fatalities associated with the Troubles, could examine the Birmingham bombings. Campaigners React Campaigner Julie Hambleton, whose 18-year-old sister Maxine was murdered in the attacks, stated the statement indicated “the administration show no concern”. The 62-year-old has long fought for a public probe and explained she and other bereaved families had “no plan” of participating in the new body. “There is no genuine independence in the body,” she said, noting it was “equivalent to them grading their own performance”. Calls for Evidence Release For years, grieving families have been demanding the publication of papers from government bodies on the event – particularly on what the state was aware of prior to and following the attack, and what evidence there is that could lead to arrests. “The entire British establishment is against our relatives from ever discovering the facts,” she said. “Solely a legally mandated judge-directed public inquiry will give us access to the documents they state they lack.” Official Powers A legally mandated public probe has particular judicial powers, encompassing the power to compel individuals to appear and reveal details related to the probe. Earlier Investigation An investigation in 2019 – fought for bereaved relatives – ruled the those killed were illegally slain by the IRA but did not establish the identities of those accountable. Hambleton commented: “Intelligence agencies advised the then coroner that they have zero files or information on what remains the UK's longest unresolved atrocity of the last century, but at present they want to force us to engage of this investigative body to disclose information that they state has not been present”. Official Criticism Liam Byrne, the MP for the local constituency, described the government’s announcement as “profoundly disheartening”. In a message on Twitter, Byrne said: “After such a long time, such immense pain, and numerous let-downs” the loved ones are entitled to a mechanism that is “autonomous, court-supervised, with full authorities and fearless in the pursuit for the reality.” Continuing Pain Reflecting on the family’s ongoing pain, Hambleton, who heads the advocacy organization, said: “No relative of any atrocity of any type will ever have resolution. It is unattainable. The grief and the anguish continue.”