No charges in Birmingham pub bombings reinvestigation

Twenty-one people died in two explosions in Birmingham in November 1974

No criminal charges will be brought following a reinvestigation into the Birmingham pub bombings, due to insufficient evidence, prosecutors say.

Twenty-one people were killed and more than 200 injured when bombs went off at two pubs on 21 November 1974.

It remains one of the worst single losses of life during the Troubles.

There was hope a new police investigation could bring justice, after inquests were finally held in 2019.

Six innocent men - known as the Birmingham Six - were released in 1991 when their convictions for the bombings were quashed.

No-one has since been criminally convicted for the attacks and no-one has ever admitted responsibility, but it is believed the IRA was behind them.

The bombs at the Tavern in the Town and Mulberry Bush pubs also injured 220 people

In November 2022, West Midlands Police submitted a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) about an unnamed individual's suspected role in the bombings.

However, the CPS has said that it could not positively identify who planted the bombs.

"Our thoughts remain with the families and victims of this terrible atrocity," said West Midlands Police assistant chief constable Jayne Meir.

"We remain committed to bringing to justice those responsible for the Birmingham pub bombings."

The CPS said it would continue to support police should there be further lines of inquiry.

The inquests heard the bombings were "an IRA operation that went badly wrong"

Twin blasts tore through the Tavern in the Town and Mulberry Bush pubs 50 years ago. A third bomb failed to go off and was recovered, but later lost, by West Midlands Police.

The force lost a court appeal in 2020 to force the journalist Chris Mullin to hand over source material from the 1980s which was said to contain a confession from the true perpetrator of the crimes.

The Guardian reported that in a letter to the victims' families, the CPS said that it did not have sufficient evidence to identify who made the confession to Mr Mullin and that it was unlikely that a new court order compelling him to reveal the source would be granted.

Campaigners had hoped the reinvestigation would bring justice for their relatives killed in the attack

Nick Price, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: "The Birmingham pub bombings were a terrorist atrocity which cut short the lives of 21 people and injured many more who were simply seeking to enjoy their evening.

"The attack has brought such unimaginable grief and our thoughts remain with the family, friends and every one of the victims."

The victims' families, through the Justice4the21 campaign group, have long been calling for a public inquiry into the attack, which was spotlighted after the announcement of an inquiry into the 1998 Omagh bombing in February this year.