'Pub bombings truth will only come with inquiry'

Birmingham pub bombings campaigner Julie Hambleton rejects Sir Keir Starmer's suggestion the case should be dealt with under Northern Ireland legacy arrangements

A woman whose sister was killed in the 1974 IRA pub bombings has criticised the prime minister for failing to commit to a public inquiry into the atrocities.

Julie Hambleton, whose sister Maxine was among 21 to die in Birmingham, says the city is getting zero answers to questions it continues to ask, and only an inquiry would get to the truth.

It comes after Keir Starmer said the families of victims would "never be forgotten", but cases would be looked at under a new legacy scheme agreed with the Irish government.

Ms Hambleton, who rejected Starmer's plan, told BBC Politics Midlands: "It would be the epitome of moral and ethical turpitude if they refuse to give us a public inquiry."

More than 200 were also injured when the bombs gutted The Mulberry Bush and The Tavern in the Town, on 21 November 1974.

While the IRA never officially admitted responsibility, it is widely believed to have been behind the attacks.

An inquest in 2019 ruled the victims were unlawfully killed by the IRA, but did not determine the identities of those responsible.

Maxine Hambleton, 18, was killed when bombs were detonated in Birmingham pubs in 1974

The new framework, aimed at addressing Northern Ireland Troubles legacy cases, was announced last week and reforms the controversial Legacy Act.

It includes a new legacy commission to investigate cases, with independent judges presiding over its inquisitorial public hearings.

'Get the truth'

Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC: "[Victims] were not forgotten and they will never be forgotten.

"I don't think any of us would ever forget what happened in that pub bombing, and for the families that is acute and they carry it every single day."

When asked whether that made an inquiry more likely, he said the legacy reforms were designed to get to the bottom of all issues, including the pub bombings.

He said he had been engaging with those affected by the blasts and felt the new arrangement was the right way "for them to get the truth and accountability that they quite understandably want to see".

The blasts tore through The Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town pubs

However, Ms Hambleton, who leads the Justice 4 the 21 campaign group, rejected the prime minister's suggestion.

"This body he's referring to is not suited to deal with our complex case," she said

"Only a judge-led public inquiry has the mechanism in place to provide the answers that we desire."

"We as families simply want what all other families have been given, which is a public inquiry.

Home Office minister Dan Jarvis said in July the home secretary was considering the request for a public inquiry.

Politics Midlands is on BBC One in the region from 10:00 BST on Sunday, and available afterwards on BBC iPlayer