Commons motion calls for pub bomb campaign legal aid

THE leader of the Green Party has joined the growing army of supporters of the families of the Birmingham pub bombings, tabling an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons.

The motion by Caroline Lucas urges the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) to approve the families’ application for exceptional funding without further delay.

The relatives need financial support to pay for lawyers at a fresh inquest into the deaths of their loved ones. The motion has be co-sponsored by Yardley Labour Jess Phillips MP, who has been campaigning for the families.

Ms Lucas, who is joint leader of the Green Party, said: “The decision to re-open the inquest raised the real possibility that both families and the city would finally get answers as to what happened that night.

“The next vital step is to make sure the families don’t have one hand tied behind their backs when it comes to finding out the fate of their loved ones. They need the same level of funding that is available to the West Midlands Police.

“If they only get some of the money they need, they will only have access to some of the truth. The families can’t be made to wait another 42 years to get answers, which is why I’m calling on the Legal Aid Agency to exercise their discretion and waive the requirement for either meanstesting or financial contributions.”

Both Prime Minister Theresa May and Home Secretary Amber Rudd have expressed personal support for the families but Ms Rudd refused to provide financial support along the lines of cash made available to the families of the victims of the Hillsborough disaster.

She has referred the matter to the LAA which, although an independent body, is funded by the Ministry of Justice.

Ms Rudd said she had spoken to Justice Secretary Liz Truss about the issue, but when Justice4the21 campaigner Julie Hambleton approached the minister at the Tory Party Conference in Birmingham, she said Ms Truss appeared to have little knowledge of the case.

Birmingham and Solihull Coroner Louise Hunt announced in June she would re-open the inquest into 21 people who died when IRA bombers blew up two city centre bars, The Mulberry Bush and The Tavern in The Town, on November 21, 1974.

Their legal support for the past two years has come from Belfast legal team KRW Law, which has acted for free, but that is no longer sustainable

West Midlands Police has already set aside £1 million of taxpayers’ money to pay for its legal team at the inquest which is set to re-open next month.