‘No progress’ on public inquiry into pub bombs
THE possibility of a public inquiry into the Birmingham pub bombings is ‘‘no further along’’ than it was a year ago, according to Priti Patel.
Last summer, the Home Secretary held a face-to-face meeting with relatives of those who died or were injured in the 1974 attacks.
She described it as an “earth-shattering” meeting and vowed to work with the families’ lawyers in exploring an official investigation into the IRA slaughter. A total of 21 people died and 182 were injured.
In an exclusive interview with the Birmingham Post, the Home Secretary said she remains “committed” to supporting the relatives who make up campaign group Justice4the21.
But when asked if a public inquiry is any further along, Mrs Patel said: “Not at this stage. But it’s not just with me.
“My colleague, the Northern Ireland Secretary, is looking into it as well. We’re working together on this.
“This has to sit across governments. We have a responsibility.
“We have to go backwards to move forwards, because of what happened in the past. We’re working across governments to look into what we can do to support them.
“And I’m committed to that.”
On the meeting last year, the Home Secretary added: “I was totally humbled. I have met them [Justice4the21 campaigners] a few times.
“I came into the region last July and it was an earth-shattering meeting, I’ll be very frank about that.
“They feel a huge sense of injustice.
“They raised some of the most harrowing things about evidence collection; things in the past they can’t access anymore. There’s no simple answer or solution to this.”
Julie Hambleton, whose sister Maxine was among 21 people killed in the 1974 blasts, previously told how she would hold the Home Secretary to account over her promise of being a “person of integrity”.
Ms Hambleton said: “Families are involved in a process of engagement with the minster’s office and look forward to further engagement.”