🔗 Share this article Officials Rule Out National Inquiry into Birmingham City Pub Bombings Authorities have decided against launching a public probe into the IRA's 1974-era Birmingham pub explosions. The Horrific Incident Back on 21 November 1974, 21 people were killed and two hundred twenty wounded when explosive devices were set off at the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town establishments in Birmingham, in an incident largely thought to have been orchestrated by the Irish Republican Army. Judicial Fallout No one has been sentenced for the incidents. In 1991, six defendants had their convictions reversed after serving more than 16 years in jail in what is considered one of the worst miscarriages of justice in United Kingdom history. Victims' Families Campaign for Truth Loved ones have for years fought for a national probe into the explosions to discover what the state was aware of at the moment of the incident and why not a single person has been held accountable. Government Statement The security minister, Dan Jarvis, announced on recently that while he had deep sympathy for the families, the government had determined “after careful consideration” it would not establish an probe. Jarvis said the authorities thinks the newly established commission, established to investigate fatalities connected to the Troubles, could examine the Birmingham incidents. Campaigners Express Disappointment Campaigner Julie Hambleton, whose 18-year-old sister Maxine was lost her life in the bombings, said the announcement showed “the government are indifferent”. The sixty-two-year-old has for decades fought for a national probe and explained she and other grieving families had “no intention” of engaging in the investigative panel. “We see no real autonomy in the panel,” she remarked, adding it was “tantamount to them assessing their own homework”. Demands for Evidence Release Over the years, grieving relatives have been demanding the publication of papers from government bodies on the attack – specifically on what the government knew before and after the incident, and what evidence there is that could result in arrests. “The entire state apparatus is opposed to our families from ever knowing the truth,” she said. “Only a official judge-led public investigation will give us access to the papers they state they don’t have.” Legal Capabilities A legally mandated open probe has particular legal capabilities, such as the authority to compel witnesses to appear and provide information associated with the inquiry. Earlier Hearing An hearing in 2019 – campaigned for grieving relatives – concluded the victims were murdered by the Provisional IRA but did not determine the names of those responsible. Hambleton said: “The security services advised the presiding official that they have absolutely no records or evidence on what continues to be Britain's longest unsolved mass murder of the last century, but at present they aim to force us to participate of this investigative body to share details that they state has not been present”. Political Reaction Liam Byrne, the MP for Hodge Hill and Solihull North, described the administration's ruling as “profoundly unsatisfactory”. In a message on social media, Byrne stated: “Following such a long time, so much suffering, and numerous failures” the families are entitled to a process that is “independent, court-supervised, with comprehensive capabilities and fearless in the pursuit for the reality.” Ongoing Sorrow Speaking of the family’s persistent sorrow, Hambleton, who chairs the advocacy organization, stated: “Not a single family of any horror of any type will ever have closure. It is impossible. The pain and the anguish remain.”