IRA man names alleged Birmingham bombers

Four men alleged to have been behind the Birmingham pub bombings have been named in court, after a convicted terrorist claimed to have been given permission to unmask them by the head of the IRA.

A total of 21 people were killed and 220 injured when two blasts tore through the Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town on November 21, 1974.

New inquests are being held after a fourdecade fight by the victims’ relatives, but the coroner has ruled that the issue of who carried out the attacks is not within the scope of his inquiry.

Families broke down yesterday as the hearings, now into their fourth week, were told by the former Irish Republican Army volunteer, identified only as Witness O, that those behind the atrocity were Seamus McLoughlin, Mick Murray, James Gavin and Michael Hayes.

In 1975, six men, who became known as the Birmingham Six, were jailed for the attacks in one of the most infamous miscarriages of justice in English legal history. Their convictions were quashed by the Court of Appeal in 1991. No-one has been prosecuted since.

Speaking via video link, Witness O said the current head of the IRA – whom he refused to identify – had told him six months ago in Dublin that he could name those involved.

He said the officer commanding the Birmingham IRA at the time was McLoughlin, who is now dead. He was said to be responsible for selecting the targets.

Murray, who was said to have been secondin-command and who was later sentenced to 12 years in jail for terrorism offences, was ‘‘one of the bombers’’, Witness O said.

‘‘There is nobody going to be charged with this atrocity.’’ Witness O

He also claimed that Murray, who is also now dead, had told him there would be ‘‘no harm’’ if similar attacks had been repeated.

Asked by Leslie Thomas, QC, representing nine of the bereaved families, if another member of the bombing team was Hayes, who has previously accepted ‘‘collective responsibility’’ for the attacks, Witness O replied: ‘‘Hayes, Hayes. I’ll give [the name] to you now.’’

He added, in an apparent reference to the Good Friday Agreement: ‘‘There is nobody going to be charged with this atrocity. The British government have signed an agreement with the IRA.’’

Asked if Gavin, a former British Army soldier, was involved, he said: ‘‘Well, he was. I met him in Dublin and he said he was.’’

The witness was also asked about Michael Patrick Reilly, suspected to be the man referred to as the ‘‘young planter’’ and who has always denied involvement. He said he did not know him.

Witness O, a convicted bomber who was in prison at the time of the attacks, claims not to have known they were planned.

He said he gave McLoughlin’s name to detectives days after the bombings. Of the other names, he added: ‘‘The police already know . . . and they haven’t done anything.’’

Outside court, Julie Hambleton, whose sister Maxine was killed in the Tavern in the Town, said: ‘‘We expect action. [We expect] information as a matter of urgency now as to what is going to happen.’’