Pub bombings inquests cost police £217,000
THE inquests into the Birmingham pub bombings cost West Midlands Police nearly £217,000, it has been revealed.
That is likely to be four times more than lawyers for the families of ten of the victims will receive.
The Justice4the21 campaign group believes its legal team may receive as little as approximately £60,000 from the Legal Aid Agency – the equivalent to £6,000 per victim. Its funding has yet to be confirmed.
It is already known that the coroner’s legal team were paid more than £2 million, while a public relations company he employed throughout the five-week hearing was paid more than £200,000.
Campaigners have previously highlighted what they describe as the “total injustice in the parity of funding and inequality of alms”.
They carried out street collections as the inquest progressed to help meet legal fees.
Both the police and the coroner’s fees are met by the taxpayer.
Chief Constable Dave Thompson made the police figures public at a Strategic Policing and Crime Board meeting.
The original inquest was never properly concluded so a new one was opened in February following a long campaign by the families, backed by the Birmingham Mail.
The jury concluded that the victims were unlawfully killed and murdered by the IRA.
Mr Thompson broke down the overall figure of £216,946, with the vast majority of cash spent on conducting the inquest itself.
He added that, even though the inquests have now been concluded, West Midlands Police would still be using funds to pursue criminal proceedings against those responsible for the bombings. After the inquest concluded, he insisted inquiries were “very active”.
He told the board meeting: “So, in terms of the spend that we’ve carried out, the costs against areas associated with the inquests have been
£216,946 plus VAT, and that breaks down as follows.
“The actual cost of counsel and conducting the inquest has been £193,847. As you are probably aware, there was a judicial review that arose from the coroner’s decision to exclude the perpetrator issue – that cost an additional £16,312.92 because the force were required to be represented at that.
“There were a number of licences to access data systems we needed, that cost us £5,880. And then in addition, arising at the inquests, we did seek a production order against the BBC concerning some interview material that they aired concerning the pub bombings, and that directly related to the ongoing criminal investigation and the cost of that was £907 for going to court. What isn’t covered by those costs is the costs to the force of assisting the coroner to conduct the inquest. So there was a considerable amount of material that the force had to compile, which we did on the instruction and support of the coroner and they have not been covered in those costs.
“There will be additional expenditure the force carries out in respect of the criminal matters that need to be investigated in regards to the pub bombings, but I don’t anticipate any other coronial costs now. This is the final position, with the inquest having completed.”
What isn’t covered is the costs to the force of assisting the Coroner to conduct the inquest.
Chief Constable Dave Thompson