MP's fresh call for pub bombings inquiry

Seven women and 14 men died after two IRA bombs went off at two Birmingham pubs on 21 November 1974

An MP has made a fresh call for a full public inquiry ahead of the 51st anniversary of the Birmingham pub bombings.

Liam Byrne, Labour MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North, raised concerns of victims' families during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday after the government said there would be no inquiry.

Byrne has written to security minister Dan Jarvis to reject a proposal for the case to instead be referred to the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his deepest sympathies remained with the bereaved and survivors of the 1974 IRA attack and he would make sure "the relevant meeting" was set up.

"We do believe the most appropriate route is through the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery, but my honourable friend has raised this issue directly with me and of course I'll make sure the relevant meeting is set up so that he and the families can put their point of view for us to consider," Starmer said in the Commons earlier.

The Mulberry Bush pub was at the foot of the iconic Rotunda building in the city centre

The ICRIR is a body established to look into deaths during Northern Ireland's decades-long conflict, known as The Troubles.

Twenty-one people died and 220 were injured when bombs exploded at the Mulberry Bush and The Tavern in the Town pubs, the biggest unsolved mass murder in British history.

"Having met with the Justice 4 the 21 families, I know that the government's proposed ICRIR simply cannot deliver the truth these families have sought for more than 50 years. As it stands, it is not fit for purpose," Byrne said.

"Only a proper judge-led inquiry can command the confidence of the families and finally confront the question that has haunted our city for half a century: Who bombed Birmingham?

"The families deserve nothing less."

But ruling out an inquiry last month, Jarvis said while he had deep sympathy with the families, "after careful consideration" the government would not commit to an inquiry, because it felt an ongoing independent commission investigation would be effective.

Julie Hambleton of Justice 4 the 21, who lost her sister in one of the blasts, said the group welcomed Byrne's support for an inquiry.

"Only this mechanism can deliver to us truth, justice and accountability in accordance with the standards of investigations demanded by the European Convention on Human Rights.

"The Legacy Act cannot do that. The Troubles Bill will not do that.

"We will not engage - through coercion - with any state-sponsored mechanism of the government apart from an independent human rights complaint inquiry in which we, as families, can effectively participate."