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Birmingham pub bombings: Priti Patel to look at case for inquiry

BBC Victims (top row left to right) Neil Marsh (silhouette), Lynn (Lyn) Bennett, Trevor Thrupp, Paul Davies, Michael Beasley, Marilyn Nash and Charles Gray (second row, left to right) Desmond Reilly, Stephen Whalley, Pamela Palmer, Maxine Hambleton, Jane Davis, James Caddick and Thomas Chaytor (third row, left to right) John Clifford Jones, James Craig, Ann Hayes, Stanley Bodman, Maureen Roberts, Eugene Reilly and John RowlandsBBC
Twenty one people were killed in two blasts on 21 November 1974

The home secretary is to consider the case for a public inquiry into the 1974 Birmingham Pub Bombings.

The blasts at the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town pubs on the night of 21 November killed 21 people and injured 220.

Their families have long called for a public inquiry into what happened.

Priti Patel said she "recognised the desire to see those responsible brought to justice".

Fresh inquests last year ruled the victims were unlawfully killed, but did not establish who was responsible.

Those hearings came about after years of campaigning by families for a full account into what happened that night.

Julie Hambleton, who lost her sister Maxine in the pub bombings, said the Justice for the 21 group believed an inquiry was the only way to establish "truth, justice and accountability" for the victims.

Birmingham Inquests Evidence shown in the Birmingham Inquests (1974) and reproduced from www.birminghaminquests1974.org.ukBirmingham Inquests
The blasts ripped apart the Mulberry Bush pub at the base of the Rotunda and the Tavern in the Town in nearby New Street

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said: "Whilst this is not a firm commitment, it is a step towards securing a public inquiry and ultimately justice for the 21 murdered that night and their families.

"I am firmly of the belief that the only way to achieve justice now is through an open, panel-led, public inquiry, and I will continue to make the case alongside the J421 campaign. The families, and the city of Birmingham, need closure."

Ms Patel said: "My sympathy remains with all those affected by these awful events 46 years ago."

She said she would "welcome" the opportunity to meet some of the families, so she could "take their views into account" before making a decision about an inquiry.

Following the inquests, Julie Hambleton called on police to bring the bombers to justice

Ms Hambleton said: "She [Priti Patel] needs to hear from us first hand what we have gone through and what we continue to fight for.

"A statutory inquiry is the only way forward. It is such a complex set of circumstances and the big question is, who bombed Birmingham and who killed our loved ones?"

Six men - Hugh Callaghan, Paddy Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, William Power and John Walker - were wrongly jailed for life in 1975 for the bombings.

The group, who became known as the Birmingham Six, had their convictions quashed in the appeal court and they were released in 1991.

West Midlands Police said there continued to be an active criminal investigation into the case.

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