🔗 Share this article Officials Reject Public Probe into Birmingham Bar Attacks Authorities have ruled out launching a public probe into the IRA's 1974 Birmingham bar explosions. This Tragic Event On 21 November 1974, 21 individuals were lost their lives and 220 injured when explosive devices were detonated at the Mulberry Bush pub and Tavern in the Town establishments in Birmingham, in an assault commonly accepted to have been planned by the Provisional IRA. Legal Aftermath Not a single person has been found guilty over the attacks. In 1991, six individuals had their sentences reversed after serving over 16 years in prison in what remains one of the most severe errors of the legal system in British history. Families Fight for Truth Loved ones have for years campaigned for a open inquiry into the bombings to uncover what the state was aware of at the moment of the event and why no one has been brought to justice. Government Decision The minister for security, Dan Jarvis, said on Thursday that while he had profound sympathy for the families, the cabinet had determined “after detailed consideration” it would not authorize an probe. Jarvis explained the government believes the newly established commission, set up to examine deaths associated with the Troubles, could examine the Birmingham incidents. Activists React Advocate Julie Hambleton, whose teenage sister Maxine was murdered in the bombings, commented the announcement demonstrated “the authorities are indifferent”. The sixty-two-year-old has for decades fought for a national inquiry and explained she and other bereaved families had “no intention” of engaging in the commission. “There is no true impartiality in the commission,” she stated, adding it was “equivalent to them assessing their own performance”. Calls for Evidence Disclosure For years, bereaved families have been demanding the release of documents from government bodies on the incident – specifically on what the authorities was aware of prior to and following the attack, and what information there is that could bring about prosecutions. “The whole UK government system is resisting our relatives from ever learning the reality,” she stated. “Exclusively a legally mandated judicial open investigation will give us access to the documents they assert they do not possess.” Legal Capabilities A statutory national investigation has specific official powers, including the authority to require participants to appear and reveal evidence connected to the investigation. Earlier Inquest An inquest in 2019 – campaigned for grieving families – concluded the victims were unlawfully killed by the IRA but failed to identify the names of those accountable. Hambleton said: “Intelligence agencies told the coroner at the time that they have absolutely no files or information on what is still the UK's longest open multiple killing of the last century, but now they aim to force us down the route of this Legacy Commission to disclose evidence that they assert has never been available”. Political Reaction Liam Byrne, the Member of Parliament for Hodge Hill and Solihull North, described the government’s announcement as “profoundly disheartening”. Through a statement on Twitter, Byrne wrote: “After such a long period, so much pain, and countless let-downs” the families merit a process that is “autonomous, judicially directed, with full authorities and fearless in the pursuit for the reality.” Enduring Grief Discussing the family’s ongoing pain, Hambleton, who heads the advocacy organization, stated: “Not a single family of any tragedy of any sort will ever have closure. It is unattainable. The pain and the anguish continue.”