🔗 Share this article Ministers Rule Out Open Probe into Birmingham Bar Attacks Government officials have rejected the idea of launching a national probe into the IRA's 1974 Birmingham bar explosions. This Devastating Event Back on 21 November 1974, 21 people were killed and 220 hurt when bombs were set off at the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town establishments in Birmingham, in an assault commonly accepted to have been orchestrated by the Irish Republican Army. Legal Fallout No one has been found guilty over the incidents. Back in 1991, six individuals had their sentences overturned after serving over 16 years in jail in what stands as one of the gravest errors of the legal system in United Kingdom history. Relatives Campaign for Truth Families have for decades pushed for a open probe into the bombings to uncover what the state knew at the moment of the tragedy and why nobody has been held accountable. Government Response The minister for security, Dan Jarvis, announced on recently that while he had deep sympathy for the families, the cabinet had determined “after detailed consideration” it would not authorize an investigation. Jarvis said the authorities believes the reconciliation commission, created to examine deaths associated with the Northern Ireland conflict, could examine the Birmingham incidents. Activists Express Disappointment Activist Julie Hambleton, whose teenage sister Maxine was murdered in the attacks, commented the statement indicated “the administration show no concern”. The sixty-two-year-old has for decades pushed for a national investigation and said she and other bereaved families had “no desire” of participating in the new body. “There is no real impartiality in the panel,” she said, explaining it was “tantamount to them marking their own homework”. Demands for Document Release For decades, grieving relatives have been calling for the release of files from government bodies on the attack – specifically on what the authorities was aware of prior to and following the bombing, and what evidence there is that could lead to prosecutions. “The entire UK government system is resisting our relatives from ever learning the reality,” she declared. “Only a statutory judicial open probe will grant us entry to the documents they state they don’t have.” Official Authority A statutory public investigation has distinct official capabilities, encompassing the authority to compel witnesses to appear and reveal details related to the probe. Previous Investigation An hearing in 2019 – secured by grieving relatives – ruled the those killed were unlawfully killed by the IRA but failed to identify the identities of those responsible. Hambleton stated: “The security services advised the presiding official that they have absolutely no records or information on what continues to be the UK's most prolonged open multiple killing of the 1900s, but currently they aim to push us to engage of this investigative body to share information that they state has never been available”. Political Criticism Liam Byrne, the MP for Hodge Hill and Solihull North, described the administration's announcement as “extremely disappointing”. Through a message on X, Byrne stated: “After such a long time, so much suffering, and numerous let-downs” the families merit a process that is “autonomous, court-supervised, with comprehensive powers and courageous in the search for the reality.” Enduring Sorrow Discussing the families' persistent grief, Hambleton, who heads the Justice 4 the 21, said: “Not a single family of any tragedy of any kind will ever have closure. It is unattainable. The suffering and the sorrow persist.”