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Authorities have decided against launching a open probe into the Provisional IRA's 1974 Birmingham city pub attacks.

This Devastating Incident

On 21 November 1974, twenty-one civilians were murdered and 220 wounded when bombs were detonated at the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town pub venues in Birmingham, in an incident commonly accepted to have been planned by the Irish Republican Army.

Judicial Aftermath

No one has been found guilty over the attacks. Back in 1991, 6 defendants had their sentences overturned after serving over 16 years in prison in what is considered one of the worst failures of justice in British history.

Families Push for Truth

Families have for decades fought for a open probe into the bombings to find out what the authorities was aware of at the moment of the incident and why no one has been prosecuted.

Official Response

The security minister, Dan Jarvis, said on Thursday that while he had deep compassion for the relatives, the administration had decided “after thorough consideration” it would not commit to an inquiry.

Jarvis explained the government believes the reconciliation commission, set up to examine deaths connected to the Northern Ireland conflict, could look into the Birmingham incidents.

Advocates Respond

Advocate Julie Hambleton, whose teenage sister Maxine was killed in the explosions, said the statement showed “the authorities show no concern”.

The sixty-two-year-old has long pushed for a open inquiry and explained she and other grieving families had “no plan” of engaging in the investigative panel.

“There is no real impartiality in the commission,” she stated, explaining it was “tantamount to them grading their own work”.

Calls for Document Release

Over the years, bereaved loved ones have been requesting the disclosure of papers from security services on the event – specifically on what the authorities was aware of before and following the bombing, and what evidence there is that could bring about legal action.

“The entire British establishment is opposed to our families from ever knowing the facts,” she stated. “Exclusively a statutory judge-led open probe will grant us entry to the papers they assert they don’t have.”

Official Capabilities

A statutory national investigation has distinct legal capabilities, including the authority to oblige individuals to attend and provide details connected to the probe.

Earlier Hearing

An hearing in 2019 – secured by bereaved relatives – ruled the those killed were unlawfully killed by the Provisional IRA but did not establish the identities of those culpable.

Hambleton commented: “Government bodies informed the presiding official that they have zero files or evidence on what is still the UK's longest open atrocity of the 20th century, but currently they aim to push us down the route of this new commission to provide information that they claim has not been present”.

Official Criticism

Liam Byrne, the Member of Parliament for the Birmingham area, labeled the administration's decision as “deeply, deeply unsatisfactory”.

In a statement on Twitter, Byrne wrote: “Following such a long period, so much pain, and numerous disappointments” the families deserve a process that is “independent, judicially directed, with full authorities and fearless in the pursuit for the facts.”

Continuing Sorrow

Discussing the family’s enduring pain, Hambleton, who chairs the campaign group, remarked: “No family of any horror of any kind will ever have closure. It is unattainable. The pain and the sorrow persist.”