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Government officials have decided against initiating a national inquiry into the Provisional IRA's 1974 Birmingham bar explosions.

This Tragic Attack

On 21 November 1974, 21 individuals were killed and 220 hurt when bombs were set off at the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town pub venues in Birmingham, in an attack largely thought to have been carried out by the Irish Republican Army.

Judicial Aftermath

No one has been sentenced over the bombings. Back in 1991, 6 defendants had their convictions reversed after enduring over 16 years in jail in what is considered one of the gravest miscarriages of the legal system in UK history.

Relatives Campaign for Justice

Loved ones have for decades campaigned for a national investigation into the attacks to uncover what the state was aware of at the moment of the tragedy and why nobody has been prosecuted.

Government Decision

The minister for security, Dan Jarvis, announced on Thursday that while he had sincere sympathy for the relatives, the cabinet had determined “after thorough deliberation” it would not establish an inquiry.

Jarvis explained the government thinks the reconciliation commission, set up to investigate deaths connected to the Troubles, could examine the Birmingham bombings.

Activists Respond

Activist Julie Hambleton, whose 18-year-old sister Maxine was lost her life in the attacks, commented the announcement indicated “the government are indifferent”.

The sixty-two-year-old has long pushed for a national inquiry and explained she and other grieving families had “no desire” of taking part in the commission.

“We see no true autonomy in the body,” she stated, noting it was “equivalent to them assessing their own homework”.

Demands for Evidence Disclosure

For years, bereaved loved ones have been requesting the disclosure of documents from security services on the event – especially on what the authorities knew prior to and following the attack, and what evidence there is that could lead to legal action.

“The entire state apparatus is opposed to our relatives from ever knowing the reality,” she declared. “Exclusively a legally mandated judicial public probe will grant us entry to the files they assert they don’t have.”

Legal Capabilities

A official national inquiry has particular judicial authorities, encompassing the power to compel witnesses to testify and disclose information connected to the investigation.

Earlier Hearing

An inquest in 2019 – secured by bereaved relatives – concluded the those killed were murdered by the IRA but failed to identify the identities of those responsible.

Hambleton commented: “The security services informed the then coroner that they have zero files or evidence on what remains Britain's most prolonged open atrocity of the 1900s, but now they want to force us to engage of this Legacy Commission to disclose details that they state has never been available”.

Political Criticism

Liam Byrne, the Member of Parliament for Hodge Hill and Solihull North, described the government’s decision as “deeply, deeply unsatisfactory”.

Through a message on X, Byrne stated: “After so much time, so much grief, and numerous failures” the families merit a process that is “independent, court-supervised, with comprehensive authorities and fearless in the pursuit for the truth.”

Enduring Sorrow

Discussing the families' persistent grief, Hambleton, who chairs the campaign group, said: “No family of any tragedy of any kind will ever have closure. It is unattainable. The grief and the grief persist.”