🔗 Share this article Government Deny Open Probe into Birmingham Bar Bombings Government officials have rejected the idea of initiating a open inquiry into the IRA's 1974-era Birmingham city bar explosions. The Horrific Event Back on 21 November 1974, 21 civilians were murdered and 220 injured 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 carried out by the Provisional IRA. Legal Fallout Nobody has been found guilty over the attacks. Back in 1991, six men had their convictions overturned after spending over 16 years in detention in what stands as one of the most severe failures of the legal system in UK history. Victims' Families Campaign for Justice Families have for years fought for a public investigation into the explosions to find out what the government knew at the moment of the tragedy and why nobody has been brought to justice. Official Statement The security minister, Dan Jarvis, stated on recently that while he had deep empathy for the relatives, the cabinet had decided “after careful consideration” it would not commit to an probe. Jarvis stated the government thinks the reconciliation commission, set up to examine deaths connected to the Northern Ireland conflict, could look into the Birmingham bombings. Campaigners React Activist Julie Hambleton, whose 18-year-old sister Maxine was lost her life in the bombings, stated the decision demonstrated “the administration are indifferent”. The sixty-two-year-old has for years pushed for a national investigation and explained she and other grieving relatives had “no plan” of participating in the new body. “We see no real impartiality in the commission,” she stated, explaining it was “like them grading their own performance”. Calls for Document Release Over the years, bereaved loved ones have been calling for the publication of documents from security services on the incident – especially on what the state knew prior to and following the bombing, and what information there is that could result in legal action. “The entire UK government system is opposed to our families from ever discovering the reality,” she said. “Exclusively a statutory judge-directed public probe will grant us access to the files they state they lack.” Official Authority A legally mandated public probe has specific judicial powers, including the power to require witnesses to appear and provide information related to the inquiry. Earlier Investigation An hearing in 2019 – campaigned for bereaved families – ruled the those killed were murdered by the Provisional IRA but did not establish the names of those accountable. Hambleton stated: “The security services told the presiding official that they have no files or documentation on what remains England’s most prolonged unsolved mass murder of the last century, but at present they aim to force us down the route of this investigative body to share evidence that they assert has never been available”. Political Response Liam Byrne, the Member of Parliament for Hodge Hill and Solihull North, characterized the administration's decision as “deeply, deeply disappointing”. Through a message on X, Byrne stated: “After so much time, such immense grief, and numerous let-downs” the families are entitled to a mechanism that is “independent, judge-led, with comprehensive capabilities and unafraid in the quest for the facts.” Ongoing Sorrow Reflecting on the families' enduring grief, Hambleton, who heads the Justice 4 the 21, stated: “Not a single family of any horror of any kind will ever have peace. It is unattainable. The grief and the grief persist.”