Named: The IRA team who ‘killed 21 in Birmingham pub bomb horror’
Witness at inquest accuses group of 1974 atrocity
A WITNESS yesterday named four IRA men who he says were behind the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings that killed 21.
The EX-IRA member said he had been given permission by current IRA chiefs to unmask those allegedly involved in the atrocity.
He spoke at a fresh inquest into the blasts at the Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town pubs.
Named only as Witness O, he blamed Seamus Mcloughlin, Mick Murray, Michael Hayes and James Gavin. All four have been named before in connection with the bombs but not in an official setting.
Witness O also gave the nicknames of two others allegedly involved – Dublin Dave and Socks.
The witness said he had nothing to do with the explosions as he had been remanded to jail in Birmingham some time before.
A total of 21 people died and 220 were hurt on November 21, 1974. Six men, known as the Birmingham Six, were wrongly convicted in 1975 and acquitted 16 years later.
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Witness O claimed Mcloughlin was commander of the Birmingham IRA at the time and had selected the targets. Murray, Mcloughlin and Gavin are dead, and Witness O claimed Hayes is protected from prosecution due to Northern Ireland’s peace process.
Witness O told the inquest: “There is nobody going to be charged with this atrocity. The British Government have signed an agreement with the IRA.”
He alleged he gave Mcloughlin’s name to police after the bombings but heard nothing more. He said he believed that police had been given enough warning to clear the pubs.
The inquest was not supposed to address the identities of the attackers. But after being told of relatives’ “pain and suffering for the last 44 years”, the EX-IRA bomber agreed to name them, even though doing so could put his life at risk.
Victims’ relatives broke down as the alleged bombers were named. Julie Hambleton, whose sister Maxine died, said: “We expect information as a matter of urgency now as to what is going to happen.”
The inquest, at the Birmingham civil justice centre, continues.