Inquests could name Birmingham bombers

The terrorists behind the Birmingham pub bombings could finally be named at an inquest more than 40 years after 21 people were killed in the IRA attack.

Hearings, expected in September, will explore the bombings at two pubs in 1974 as well as the botched police hunt that led to the wrongful 1975 convictions of the Birmingham Six.

At a pre-inquest review yesterday, coroner Peter Hearing QC was told that under current inquest rules those suggested of having criminal liability cannot be named in his conclusion. Heather Williams QC, acting for the family of dead brothers Eugene and Desmond Reilly, said identities could and should be part of any evidence.