Relatives will fight on to identify IRA pub bombers

Families of victims hit out at court refusal to name those responsible for 1974 atrocity in Birmingham

THE families of those killed in the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings said they had been robbed of the chance of justice after the Court of Appeal upheld a coroner’s decision not to name those responsible for the outrage. Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett and two other Court of Appeal judges ruled that Sir Peter Thornton QC had made “no error of law” in reaching his decision not to investigate the identities of those who carried out the atrocity.

Relatives of the 21 people killed when the IRA blew up the Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town said they felt as if they had been “punched in the stomach” following the decision, but vowed to keep fighting.

Michael Christopher Hayes, a selfconfessed IRA bomb-maker, who now lives in south Belfast, last year apologised for the deaths and injuries, but refused to name other members of the IRA cell responsible for the atrocity.

In January, two High Court judges sitting in Birmingham ordered Sir Peter to reconsider his decision not to name the suspected bombers, following a successful judicial review action by bereaved families.

But Lord Burnett, Lady Justice Hallett and Lord Justice Mccombe yesterday ruled that the coroner’s decision “is not open to legal objection”. Lord Burnett said Sir Peter “was invited to explore as a distinct issue at the inquests the identities of those responsible for the bombings”.

He continued: “The statutory scheme provides that neither he nor the jury can name anyone they believe responsible; and exhaustive police inquiries since the acquittal of those originally convicted for the bombings have been unable to do so.”

Hugh Southey QC, representing the families, told the appeal judges: “There is the utmost public interest in the proper investigation of who was responsible for the bombings.”

The High Court decision followed a judicial review brought on behalf of the bereaved families by Julie Hambleton, whose sister, Maxine, was just 18 when she was killed in the bombings.

Speaking in the grounds of Birmingham’s Anglican Cathedral, Mrs Hambleton said: “Without the perpetrator issue being a part of the scope (of the inquest) how can you ever possibly finish the jigsaw? You have got a major part of it missing. We feel as though we’ve been punched in the stomach again. What we do, we do for 21 people who aren’t here to do it for themselves.

“We are clearly very disappointed. We will take stock, speak to our legal team and get their assessment of the decision – and then either decide to appeal or just to continue on with the inquest process.”

Members of Justice4the21, the relatives’ campaign group, said they were seeking legal advice with a view to appealing against yesterday’s decision.