Yet another case of police behaviour which has always aroused public suspicion may be about to come under scrutiny. Coroner Louise Hunt has ruled that inquests into the deaths of 21 people killed in what have come to be known as the “Birmingham Pub Bombings” are to be re-opened.
The Birmingham pub bombings took place on 21st November 1974. Bombs exploded in two pubs, causing a very high death toll (compared with similar incidents of the time) and many injuries. The bombings were thought to be the work of Irish Republicans – at a time when Irish activists were planting several bombs a week within the Six Counties of Northern Ireland. Bombs on the British mainland were much more rare.
Ms Hunt ruled that the inquests should be reopened because there was a “wealth of evidence” that had not been heard. She had heard representations from the West Midlands Police, who submitted that she did not have the jurisdiction to reopen the inquests – but this line of argument did not convince her. She referred to evidence that the police had received warnings before the bombs exploded and said that the new inquests would need to look at whether the police acted on these warnings.
Her decision was broadly welcomed by the relatives of those killed by the bombs. They stressed that, even after 42 years, they still yearned to hear the truth. It is expected that pre-inquest hearings will be held over the next few months, with a full hearing held next year.
One miscarriage of justice connected with these bombings was corrected in 1991, when six men who had been convicted of carrying out the bombings had their convictions quashed. The Six were originally charged with these offences after an investigation by the West Midlands Police. Are we on the brink of a process which will lead to another correction?
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