🔗 Share this article Officials Reject Open Inquiry into Birmingham City Bar Explosions Authorities have decided against launching a open inquiry into the Provisional IRA's 1974-era Birmingham bar attacks. The Tragic Attack On 21 November 1974, twenty-one civilians were lost their lives and two hundred twenty injured when explosive devices were set off at the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town venues in Birmingham, in an incident largely thought to have been planned by the IRA. Legal Fallout Not a single person has been sentenced for the bombings. In 1991, 6 individuals had their sentences reversed after serving more than 16 years in detention in what stands as one of the gravest miscarriages of the legal system in UK history. Relatives Campaign for Justice Loved ones have for decades fought for a open investigation into the bombings to discover what the state was aware of at the time of the incident and why not a single person has been held accountable. Official Response The security minister, Dan Jarvis, said on Thursday that while he had deep compassion for the loved ones, the administration had determined “after careful review” it would not commit to an probe. Jarvis explained the government thinks the reconciliation commission, created to look into fatalities connected to the Northern Ireland conflict, could look into the Birmingham incidents. Activists Express Disappointment Advocate Julie Hambleton, whose 18-year-old sister Maxine was murdered in the explosions, said the announcement demonstrated “the government are indifferent”. The 62-year-old has for decades pushed for a national probe and said she and other bereaved families had “no plan” of taking part in the investigative panel. “There is no genuine autonomy in the commission,” she remarked, adding it was “equivalent to them grading their own performance”. Calls for Evidence Disclosure For years, bereaved loved ones have been demanding the release of files from intelligence agencies on the event – especially on what the authorities was aware of prior to and after the bombing, and what proof there is that could lead to arrests. “The entire British establishment is opposed to our families from ever knowing the truth,” she said. “Solely a statutory judge-directed public investigation will grant us access to the documents they claim they do not possess.” Official Capabilities A statutory public investigation has particular judicial authorities, including the power to require witnesses to appear and reveal evidence related to the inquiry. Prior Hearing An investigation in 2019 – fought for grieving relatives – ruled the victims were unlawfully killed by the Provisional IRA but did not determine the names of those culpable. Hambleton said: “Intelligence agencies told the presiding official that they have zero documents or documentation on what is still Britain's longest unsolved mass murder of the 1900s, but currently they want to force us down the route of this Legacy Commission to disclose evidence that they claim has never been available”. Official Criticism Liam Byrne, the Member of Parliament for the local constituency, characterized the government’s ruling as “extremely disappointing”. In a announcement on X, Byrne stated: “After so much time, such immense pain, and countless failures” the relatives merit a process that is “independent, judicially directed, with full powers and unafraid in the quest for the reality.” Ongoing Sorrow Reflecting on the families' enduring sorrow, Hambleton, who chairs the campaign group, stated: “No relative of any atrocity of any sort will ever have peace. It is unattainable. The grief and the grief persist.”