🔗 Share this article Officials Rule Out Public Investigation into Birmingham City Bar Explosions Government officials have decided against establishing a public inquiry into the Provisional IRA's 1974 Birmingham city bar attacks. This Devastating Incident On 21 November 1974, 21 individuals were lost their lives and 220 injured when bombs were detonated at the Mulberry Bush pub and Tavern in the Town pub establishments in Birmingham, in an assault widely believed to have been carried out by the IRA. Legal Aftermath Not a single person has been convicted for the attacks. Back in 1991, six defendants had their sentences quashed after enduring more than 16 years in prison in what stands as one of the most severe miscarriages of justice in United Kingdom history. Victims' Families Campaign for Truth Relatives have for years campaigned for a public inquiry into the explosions to discover what the state was aware of at the time of the event and why no one has been prosecuted. Official Response The minister for security, Dan Jarvis, stated on Thursday that while he had deep compassion for the relatives, the administration had determined “after thorough review” it would not authorize an investigation. Jarvis said the administration thinks the newly established commission, set up to look into fatalities associated with the Northern Ireland conflict, could look into the Birmingham incidents. Advocates Express Disappointment Campaigner Julie Hambleton, whose teenage sister Maxine was lost her life in the explosions, said the decision showed “the authorities are indifferent”. The 62-year-old has for years fought for a national inquiry and stated she and other bereaved families had “no desire” of engaging in the new body. “There is no genuine autonomy in the body,” she remarked, noting it was “equivalent to them assessing their own performance”. Demands for Evidence Release For decades, grieving loved ones have been demanding the disclosure of documents from government bodies on the event – especially on what the government was aware of prior to and after the incident, and what evidence there is that could bring about prosecutions. “The whole British establishment is opposed to our relatives from ever knowing the facts,” she said. “Only a statutory judge-directed public inquiry will give us access to the files they assert they do not possess.” Official Authority A official open inquiry has specific official authorities, such as the ability to require participants to appear and disclose evidence related to the inquiry. Earlier Investigation An hearing in 2019 – fought for grieving families – concluded the victims were unlawfully killed by the Provisional IRA but did not establish the names of those culpable. Hambleton commented: “Intelligence agencies informed the presiding official that they have zero documents or evidence on what is still England’s longest unresolved atrocity of the 1900s, but now they intend to push us to participate of this new commission to provide information that they assert has never existed”. Official Reaction Liam Byrne, the MP for the local constituency, characterized the administration's announcement as “extremely unsatisfactory”. Through a message on Twitter, Byrne wrote: “Following such a long period, such immense suffering, and so many let-downs” the relatives are entitled to a process that is “autonomous, judge-led, with full authorities and courageous in the quest for the truth.” Enduring Pain Reflecting on the family’s enduring pain, Hambleton, who leads the advocacy organization, remarked: “No family of any atrocity of any kind will ever have resolution. It doesn’t exist. The suffering and the sorrow remain.”