🔗 Share this article Officials Deny National Probe into Birmingham City Bar Bombings Government officials have decided against launching a open probe into the Provisional IRA's 1974-era Birmingham city bar bombings. This Devastating Incident On 21 November 1974, 21 individuals were murdered and two hundred twenty wounded when bombs were exploded at the Mulberry Bush pub and Tavern in the Town venues in Birmingham, in an attack largely thought to have been orchestrated by the Irish Republican Army. Legal Fallout Nobody has been found guilty for the bombings. Back in 1991, six men had their sentences reversed after serving more than 16 years in jail in what remains one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history. Relatives Fight for Truth Relatives have for decades campaigned for a national investigation into the attacks to discover what the authorities was aware of at the moment of the tragedy and why no one has been prosecuted. Official Decision The security minister, Dan Jarvis, said on Thursday that while he had profound sympathy for the families, the government had concluded “after detailed review” it would not commit to an probe. Jarvis explained the government considers the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery, created to look into fatalities associated with the Northern Ireland conflict, could examine the Birmingham incidents. Campaigners Express Disappointment Campaigner Julie Hambleton, whose teenage sister Maxine was killed in the attacks, commented the statement indicated “the government show no concern”. The 62-year-old has for years pushed for a open investigation and explained she and other grieving families had “no plan” of engaging in the commission. “There’s no true autonomy in the commission,” she said, adding it was “tantamount to them grading their own work”. Requests for Document Release For decades, bereaved loved ones have been demanding the disclosure of papers from government bodies on the incident – particularly on what the government was aware of prior to and following the bombing, and what evidence there is that could bring about arrests. “The entire state apparatus is opposed to our families from ever knowing the reality,” she declared. “Solely a official judge-led public inquiry will give us access to the files they state they lack.” Legal Capabilities A official national inquiry has particular legal authorities, such as the ability to require participants to testify and disclose details related to the inquiry. Previous Inquest An inquest in 2019 – fought for bereaved relatives – concluded the victims were unlawfully killed by the IRA but did not establish the identities of those culpable. Hambleton said: “Intelligence agencies advised the presiding official that they have absolutely no files or evidence on what is still the UK's most prolonged open multiple killing of the 1900s, but at present they intend to push us to participate of this Legacy Commission to share evidence that they claim has not been present”. Political Response Liam Byrne, the Member of Parliament for the local constituency, characterized the cabinet's announcement as “profoundly disappointing”. Through a statement on Twitter, Byrne said: “After so much time, such immense grief, and countless failures” the families deserve a process that is “independent, court-supervised, with complete authorities and courageous in the pursuit for the reality.” Continuing Pain Reflecting on the family’s ongoing grief, Hambleton, who leads the advocacy organization, remarked: “No family of any atrocity of any sort will ever have closure. It is impossible. The grief and the grief continue.”