NOW BRING THE BOMBERS TO JUSTICE
As inquest confirms IRA murdered 21 in Birmingham and two living suspects are named, families tell police:
POLICE were told to ‘do their job’ and finally bring those behind the Birmingham pub bombings to justice last night.
The call came from grieving relatives after an inquest – at which two living suspects were named – concluded the victims were murdered by the IRA.
A total of 21 died and 220 were injured when two terrorist bombs exploded minutes after each other at the Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town pubs in the city in November 1974.
The inquest jury concluded that a warning call seven minutes before the first blast was ‘inadequate’ to prevent the huge loss of life.
In 1975 six men – who became known as the Birmingham Six – were convicted over the blasts but acquitted 16 years later. The attacks remain the country’s largest unsolved terror crime.
The families of the victims, many of them young people enjoying a night out, have campaigned for decades for a full inquest into their deaths, hoping it would put pressure on the police to act.
The hearing concluded at the Birmingham Civil Justice Centre yesterday, paving the way for fresh prosecutions. West Midlands Police said the investigation remained open.
Julie Hambleton, whose sister Maxine was killed, said the force’s chief constable
‘Two murderers are out there’
Dave Thompson should ‘tie his shoe laces, black his shoes and go out and do the job because we’ve heard new evidence that two of the murderers are out there’.
She added: ‘West Midlands Police have always told us when they get new evidence they will act on it. Well here you go – you have the new evidence and I’m sure there is more to be found.’
The force has been criticised for its bungled investigation into the Birmingham Six, as well as its response on the night. There were only six uniformed police constables among the 15 officers on duty in the city centre as staff had been diverted to cover the funeral procession of an IRA bomber whose remains were being repatriated.
The inquest also heard claims that the force had evidence of the attack beforehand. But the jury concluded there was no ‘error or omission’ in the police response and no evidence the force had prior information.
Five men were named at the hearing in connection with the attacks, including two who are still alive but deny involvement.
One of them, Michael Hayes, now 70, is living in Dublin where he was photographed attending a funeral last week. The other, Michael Reilly, now 63, was until recently living with his wife in Belfast.
Reilly was named at the hearing by lawyers for the victims’ families and has previously been claimed to be the ‘young planter’ mentioned in a book by journalist and former Labour MP Chris Mullin.
Mr Mullin refused to identify him at the hearing, but the ‘young planter’ allegedly told him in an interview he had planted the bombs in both pubs, claiming he did not know people would be killed.
Reilly was a teenager living in Birmingham at the time of the pub bombings and was interviewed by West Midlands Police in 1975. He admitted bombing some local businesses and that he knew about the pub attacks in advance but he did not admit to being involved.
He was sentenced to ten years in prison for conspiracy and causing explosions. After his release he moved to Belfast, where he was confronted by ITV journalist John Ware last year. He denied involvement in the pub attacks.
He has not been seen since and is believed to have gone to Dublin. Mr Thompson refused to say if the two suspects had been interviewed or would be in the future.
He said: ‘This is an active investigation. The names in court are not new to West Midlands Police – a number of those people have featured in our investigations.
‘What we have to do is assemble evidence and work with the Crown prosecutors. We would not give a running commentary on who we have spoken to.’