MPs back calls for Birmingham pub bombings inquiry

Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst and Sarah Edwards said the victims' families deserved closure

Two MPs have backed calls for a public inquiry into the Birmingham pub bombings after the city marked the 50th anniversary.

Sarah Edwards, Labour MP for Tamworth, and Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst, Conservative MP for Solihull West and Shirley, both said the victims and their families deserved "closure".

Twenty-one people were killed and 220 injured in the IRA bombings at the Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town on 21 November 1974.

Six innocent men, known as the Birmingham Six, served more than 16 years in prison for the atrocity, but the real perpetrators were never brought to justice.

Edwards, who is originally from Birmingham, told BBC Politics Midlands: "I think it absolutely makes sense that they [the victims and families] can get that closure.

"I think it's really good we're hearing positive things from the government about the fact they are considering it."

She said if an inquiry were to happen, it would need to be done in "the right way" so families could feel confident they would "get the answers they want".

• BBC Sounds: In Detail... the Pub Bombings

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Shastri-Hurst, who also grew up in Birmingham, said he was born nine years after the bombings and described it as a "cloud that covered the city".

"I think it is right that we have a public inquiry," he said.

"Families need closure on this - they've had the inquests, but they haven't had many answers to their questions.

"I think the time has come and we need to get on with it."

Events were held across the city on Thursday to mark five decades since the bombings, and on Friday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said a decision on an inquiry would be made as soon as possible.

Pressed on how much longer families would have to wait, he said: "We'll keep talking to them and engage and come to a decision as quickly as we can."

Watch Politics Midlands on BBC One in the West Midlands at 10:00 GMT on Sunday. The show will be available on the iPlayer afterwards.