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Ministers have decided against launching a open investigation into the IRA's 1974 Birmingham bar explosions.

This Horrific Attack

On 21 November 1974, twenty-one people were killed and two hundred twenty wounded when bombs were exploded at the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town pub establishments in Birmingham, in an assault commonly accepted to have been carried out by the Provisional IRA.

Legal Consequences

Not a single person has been convicted over the attacks. In 1991, 6 individuals had their sentences overturned after serving more than 16 years in jail in what is considered one of the most severe failures of justice in British history.

Families Push for Justice

Relatives have for decades pushed for a national investigation into the explosions to find out what the state was aware of at the time of the tragedy and why nobody has been brought to justice.

Official Statement

The minister for security, Dan Jarvis, said on recently that while he had sincere compassion for the families, the government had determined “after careful consideration” it would not commit to an probe.

Jarvis explained the government considers the reconciliation commission, established to investigate deaths connected to the Troubles, could investigate the Birmingham incidents.

Advocates Express Disappointment

Advocate Julie Hambleton, whose teenage sister Maxine was murdered in the explosions, said the announcement indicated “the government don't care”.

The 62-year-old has for decades campaigned for a public investigation and explained she and other grieving families had “no desire” of engaging in the investigative panel.

“There is no genuine impartiality in the panel,” she said, explaining it was “like them assessing their own performance”.

Requests for Document Disclosure

Over the years, grieving families have been requesting the disclosure of papers from government bodies on the attack – particularly on what the authorities knew prior to and following the attack, and what evidence there is that could lead to prosecutions.

“The entire UK government system is resisting our families from ever knowing the facts,” she stated. “Solely a legally mandated judicial open inquiry will grant us entry to the documents they state they do not possess.”

Official Powers

A official open probe has particular legal powers, including the authority to require witnesses to attend and reveal information related to the probe.

Prior Hearing

An hearing in 2019 – fought for grieving families – concluded the victims were murdered by the IRA but failed to identify the names of those culpable.

Hambleton stated: “Government bodies told the presiding official that they have zero records or documentation on what continues to be the UK's longest unresolved atrocity of the 1900s, but now they want to push us to engage of this investigative body to share evidence that they assert has not been present”.

Official Criticism

Liam Byrne, the Member of Parliament for the local constituency, characterized the cabinet's announcement as “profoundly disappointing”.

In a statement on X, Byrne wrote: “After so much time, such immense grief, and numerous failures” the relatives are entitled to a process that is “autonomous, judge-led, with full capabilities and unafraid in the search for the truth.”

Enduring Sorrow

Speaking of the families' enduring grief, Hambleton, who leads the Justice 4 the 21, said: “No family of any atrocity of any type will ever have closure. It is unattainable. The pain and the grief continue.”