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Government officials have rejected the idea of initiating a open inquiry into the IRA's 1974-era Birmingham bar bombings.

This Tragic Event

Back on 21 November 1974, twenty-one people were killed and two hundred twenty injured when bombs were exploded at the Mulberry Bush pub and Tavern in the Town pub venues in Birmingham, in an incident commonly accepted to have been orchestrated by the Irish Republican Army.

Judicial Aftermath

Not a single person has been convicted for the bombings. Back in 1991, 6 defendants had their convictions overturned after enduring over 16 years in prison in what stands as one of the most severe errors of the legal system in UK history.

Families Campaign for Answers

Families have for decades fought for a open investigation into the explosions to find out what the state knew at the time of the event and why nobody has been held accountable.

Government Statement

The minister for security, Dan Jarvis, said on Thursday that while he had sincere sympathy for the loved ones, the government had concluded “after careful deliberation” it would not authorize an investigation.

Jarvis explained the administration believes the newly established commission, set up to investigate fatalities related to the Troubles, could examine the Birmingham attacks.

Advocates Express Disappointment

Campaigner Julie Hambleton, whose teenage sister Maxine was killed in the attacks, stated the announcement showed “the administration show no concern”.

The 62-year-old has for years pushed for a national inquiry and explained she and other grieving families had “no intention” of engaging in the new body.

“There is no true impartiality in the body,” she stated, explaining it was “tantamount to them grading their own work”.

Calls for Evidence Disclosure

Over the years, grieving families have been demanding the release of papers from security services on the incident – particularly on what the authorities was aware of before and after the attack, and what evidence there is that could result in arrests.

“The whole British establishment is against our families from ever discovering the reality,” she declared. “Exclusively a legally mandated judge-directed national probe will provide us entry to the files they assert they don’t have.”

Legal Powers

A statutory public inquiry has specific judicial capabilities, including the ability to require individuals to testify and reveal evidence connected to the probe.

Prior Inquest

An inquest in 2019 – campaigned for grieving families – ruled the victims were unlawfully killed by the IRA but did not establish the identities of those culpable.

Hambleton said: “The security services advised the presiding official that they have zero files or evidence on what remains England’s most prolonged open mass murder of the last century, but at present they want to push us down the route of this investigative body to disclose details that they assert has not been present”.

Political Reaction

Liam Byrne, the MP for the Birmingham area, described the cabinet's ruling as “profoundly unsatisfactory”.

In a statement on Twitter, Byrne wrote: “After so much period, such immense pain, and countless failures” the relatives deserve a procedure that is “autonomous, judge-led, with full authorities and unafraid in the pursuit for the facts.”

Enduring Pain

Discussing the families' enduring pain, Hambleton, who leads the campaign group, said: “No relative of any tragedy of any kind will ever have closure. It is impossible. The grief and the grief remain.”