Birmingham pub bombings: new arrest

A 65-year-old man was last night arrested on suspicion of involvement in the Birmingham pub bombings of 1974. Michael Patrick Reilly was held shortly after officers from West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit, supported by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, attended his home in Belfast – days before the 46th anniversary of the bombings that took 21 lives and injured more than 200 when the IRA blew up the Mulberry Bush and Tavern In The Town pubs.

November 21 1974

Two massive explosions rip apart the packed Tavern in the Town and Mulberry Bush pubs in Birmingham city centre, killing 21 people instantly and wounding more than 220.

November 22 1974

Five men arrested after getting off a train are questioned by West Midlands Police serious crime squad officers. Some of the men later claim they were forced to sign confessions.

August 15 1975

The Birmingham Six: Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Joseph Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard Mcilkenny, William Power and John Walker, are convicted after trial of 21 counts of murder.

March 27 1991

The Birmingham Six are released following a ruling by the Court of Appeal. Their convictions go down as one of the gravest miscarriages of justice in legal history.

April 5 2019

More than 44 years after the bombings, the inquests into the deaths of the bereaved loved ones conclude the victims – who included the sister of Julie Hambleton, left – were unlawfully killed.

October 19 2020

Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, announces she is to consider a statutory public inquiry into the circumstances of the bombings and wants to meet with the victims’ families.