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| I fear the Birmingham bombings inquest will only bring heartache | I fear the Birmingham bombings inquest will only bring heartache |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The author Robert Harris once wrote that “whoever planted the bombs in Birmingham … also planted a bomb under the British legal establishment”. Say that again. Even now, 42 years after the event, shock waves from the explosions continue to reverberate. | The author Robert Harris once wrote that “whoever planted the bombs in Birmingham … also planted a bomb under the British legal establishment”. Say that again. Even now, 42 years after the event, shock waves from the explosions continue to reverberate. |
| Wednesday’s decision by the Birmingham coroner to reopen the inquest into the death of the victims is only the latest round in a long saga that has involved several major police inquiries, a royal commission and a failed attempt to convict former police offers connected with the case. In addition, more than 30 other convictions were quashed following the disbandment of the notorious West Midlands serious crimes squad, members of which were responsible for the pub bombing convictions. | |
| Personally, I have mixed feelings. If there is any genuinely new evidence then by all means examine it, but so long after the event there is a danger that a renewed inquiry will arouse expectations that cannot be fulfilled and lead only to more disappointment and heartache for the families of the victims. | Personally, I have mixed feelings. If there is any genuinely new evidence then by all means examine it, but so long after the event there is a danger that a renewed inquiry will arouse expectations that cannot be fulfilled and lead only to more disappointment and heartache for the families of the victims. |
| Related: Birmingham pub bombings: coroner orders new inquests | Related: Birmingham pub bombings: coroner orders new inquests |
| Making her announcement, the coroner referred to a “wealth of evidence that has still not been heard”. It remains to be seen precisely what she was referring to, but at the earlier hearings Ashley Underwood QC, who acted for the relatives, asserted that “there is reason to believe that the murder gang had an informant in their ranks and that the police knew in advance” that the explosions were planned and could, therefore, perhaps have been averted. | |
| I find this unlikely. Prior to the bombings the only informer of whom I am aware was an IRA man who was detained as part of an earlier round of arrests. His usefulness would have come to an end with his arrest some months before the pub bombings, although he might have been able to provide the police with the names of some of those who remained at liberty, which would have at least given them an idea of who to keep tabs on. | |
| There is also intriguing evidence that an IRA man, arrested after the pub bombings, co-operated with the police. In 1987 the Granada Television programme World in Action obtained a document from the special branch archive which was a precis of interviews with a man who names several of the pub bombers. Remarkably, the police chose to take no action. To do so, of course, would have meant admitting that they had just put away the wrong people. The Criminal Records Office reference on the file is 10368/74. It would be interesting to hear more about this. | There is also intriguing evidence that an IRA man, arrested after the pub bombings, co-operated with the police. In 1987 the Granada Television programme World in Action obtained a document from the special branch archive which was a precis of interviews with a man who names several of the pub bombers. Remarkably, the police chose to take no action. To do so, of course, would have meant admitting that they had just put away the wrong people. The Criminal Records Office reference on the file is 10368/74. It would be interesting to hear more about this. |
| In addition, it has been suggested that the IRA was so heavily penetrated by M15 that they may well have had advance warning of what was afoot. Unlikely, given that the pub bombings – like the 50 or so bombings in the West Midlands that preceded them – were a local initiative and would not have required clearance by the IRA high command. | |
| In his submission to the coroner, Underwood also alleged that “there is reason to believe that the police had sufficient time between the telephone warnings and the first bomb going off, to evacuate … but that the record was falsified”. There may be something in this. The man who made the warning call was Michael Murray. When I interviewed him in 1986 he conceded that the warning call was botched, but insisted that he gave more notice than the six minutes later alleged. At the time I was sceptical, but if there is evidence that the record was falsified – and I wouldn’t put anything past those in charge of the initial investigation – then it may well be that lives could have been saved. | In his submission to the coroner, Underwood also alleged that “there is reason to believe that the police had sufficient time between the telephone warnings and the first bomb going off, to evacuate … but that the record was falsified”. There may be something in this. The man who made the warning call was Michael Murray. When I interviewed him in 1986 he conceded that the warning call was botched, but insisted that he gave more notice than the six minutes later alleged. At the time I was sceptical, but if there is evidence that the record was falsified – and I wouldn’t put anything past those in charge of the initial investigation – then it may well be that lives could have been saved. |
| I am not aware of any evidence, short of a confession, that is likely to lead to a conviction | I am not aware of any evidence, short of a confession, that is likely to lead to a conviction |
| It wasn’t just the police who told lies. The IRA had its problems too. David O’Connell, the IRA chief of staff, had promised a full inquiry into the pub bombings and that the results would be published “irrespective of how unpalatable the truth may be”. In the event, the outcome was not published. A veteran IRA man later explained to me what happened. There had indeed been an inquiry. The IRA men who came back from Birmingham in the aftermath of the pub bombings had been interrogated and denied that the bombings were anything to do with them. “I firmly believed them at the time. Eighteen months later I was sitting in the house of one of the men who had been active in Birmingham. People had had a few drinks and they started talking. It became clear that we had done it.” It took the IRA 11 years to own up. On 28 October 1985, Joe Cahill on behalf of the Army Council admitted responsibility. | |
| The bottom line is this: the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings had nothing whatever to do with these or any other explosions. They were not members of the IRA or even of Sinn Féin. Of the four men directly responsible for the bombings none was ever charged, though three served sentences for other offences. Two of the four are dead. In addition Seamus Mclaughlin, who was in charge of the Birmingham IRA at the time of the bombings and who almost certainly authorised them, died last year. As regards the two who remain at liberty, I am not aware of the existence of any evidence, short of a confession, that is likely to lead to a conviction. Forty-two years ago it might have been different, but then the police weren’t looking. | The bottom line is this: the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings had nothing whatever to do with these or any other explosions. They were not members of the IRA or even of Sinn Féin. Of the four men directly responsible for the bombings none was ever charged, though three served sentences for other offences. Two of the four are dead. In addition Seamus Mclaughlin, who was in charge of the Birmingham IRA at the time of the bombings and who almost certainly authorised them, died last year. As regards the two who remain at liberty, I am not aware of the existence of any evidence, short of a confession, that is likely to lead to a conviction. Forty-two years ago it might have been different, but then the police weren’t looking. |