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Ministers have rejected the idea of establishing a national inquiry into the IRA's 1974 Birmingham bar attacks.

The Horrific Attack

On 21 November 1974, 21 civilians were lost their lives and two hundred twenty injured when explosive devices were detonated at the Mulberry Bush pub and Tavern in the Town pub establishments in Birmingham, in an assault widely believed to have been planned by the IRA.

Legal Consequences

No one has been sentenced for the incidents. Back in 1991, six defendants had their sentences reversed after spending over 16 years in jail in what stands as one of the gravest failures of the legal system in UK history.

Families Fight for Truth

Relatives have long campaigned for a open probe into the bombings to uncover what the government was aware of at the time of the event and why no one has been brought to justice.

Official Statement

The security minister, Dan Jarvis, stated on Thursday that while he had profound empathy for the loved ones, the cabinet had decided “after thorough review” it would not establish an investigation.

Jarvis said the authorities considers the newly established commission, established to examine deaths associated with the Troubles, could investigate the Birmingham incidents.

Campaigners Respond

Advocate Julie Hambleton, whose 18-year-old sister Maxine was killed in the bombings, stated the announcement indicated “the administration are indifferent”.

The sixty-two-year-old has for years fought for a open inquiry and explained she and other bereaved relatives had “no desire” of participating in the investigative panel.

“There’s no true impartiality in the commission,” she said, noting it was “like them assessing their own homework”.

Demands for Document Disclosure

Over the years, grieving relatives have been requesting the publication of papers from government bodies on the attack – especially on what the authorities knew before and after the bombing, and what information there is that could bring about prosecutions.

“The whole UK government system is against our relatives from ever discovering the truth,” she said. “Exclusively a legally mandated judicial national inquiry will give us access to the files they claim they don’t have.”

Legal Powers

A statutory open probe has distinct judicial capabilities, including the power to oblige participants to appear and reveal details connected to the probe.

Prior Investigation

An hearing in 2019 – fought for grieving relatives – ruled the those killed were murdered by the IRA but did not establish the identities of those responsible.

Hambleton said: “The security services advised the presiding official that they have no documents or documentation on what remains the UK's most prolonged unresolved mass murder of the last century, but now they want to force us down the route of this new commission to disclose details that they assert has never been available”.

Official Reaction

Liam Byrne, the Member of Parliament for Hodge Hill and Solihull North, described the government’s announcement as “profoundly disheartening”.

In a statement on social media, Byrne said: “Following such a long time, so much suffering, and countless let-downs” the loved ones are entitled to a procedure that is “independent, court-supervised, with complete authorities and fearless in the pursuit for the truth.”

Continuing Sorrow

Discussing the family’s enduring pain, Hambleton, who heads the Justice 4 the 21, stated: “No relative of any tragedy of any kind will ever have closure. It is impossible. The pain and the sorrow continue.”