Birmingham pub bombings

Birmingham pub bombings
Part of the Troubles

Aftermath of the explosion in the Mulberry Bush public house, which killed ten people.
Location Birmingham, England
Date 21 November 1974
20:17 (Mulberry Bush)
20:27 (Tavern in the Town) (GMT)
Target The Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town public houses, Birmingham City Centre; and Barclays Bank, Edgbaston
Attack type
 Time bombs
Deaths 21
Non-fatal injuries
 182
Perpetrator Provisional Irish Republican Army

The Birmingham pub bombings (also known as the Birmingham bombings)[1] occurred on 21 November 1974, when bombs exploded in two public houses in central Birmingham, England. The explosions killed 21 people and injured 182 others.[2]

Although the Provisional Irish Republican Army have never officially admitted responsibility for the Birmingham pub bombings,[3] a former senior officer of the organisation confessed to their involvement in 2014, with an admission the Birmingham pub bombings "went against everything we [the Provisional Irish Republican Army] claimed to stand for".[4]

Six Irishmen were arrested within hours of the blasts, and in 1975 sentenced to life imprisonment for the bombings. The men—who became known as the Birmingham Six—maintained their innocence and insisted police had coerced them into signing false confessions through severe physical and psychological abuse. After 16 years in prison and a lengthy campaign, their convictions were declared unsafe and unsatisfactory, and quashed by the Court of Appeal in 1991. The episode is seen as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British legal history.

The Birmingham pub bombings are seen as one of the deadliest acts of the Troubles and the deadliest act of terrorism[5][6] to occur in Great Britain between the Second World War and the 2005 London bombings.[7]

Background

In 1973, the Provisional IRA extended its campaign to mainland Britain, attacking military and symbolically important targets to both increase pressure on the British government, via popular British opinion,[8] to withdraw from Northern Ireland,[9] and to maintain morale amongst their supporters.[10] By 1974, mainland Britain saw an average of one attack—successful or otherwise—every three days.[11] These attacks included five explosions which had occurred in Birmingham on 14 July, one of which had occurred at the Rotunda.[12]

Prior to any attack upon civilian targets, a code of conduct was followed in which the attacker or attackers would send an anonymous telephone warning to police, with the caller reciting a confidential code word known only to the Provisional IRA and to police, to indicate the authenticity of the threat.[13]

On 14 November, James McDade, a 28-year-old U.K.-based member of the Provisional IRA, was killed in a premature explosion as he attempted to plant a bomb at a telephone exchange and postal sorting office in Coventry.[14] Another man, Raymond McLaughlin, was arrested near the scene; he was charged with unlawfully killing McDade and causing an explosion. The republican movement in England had planned to bury McDade in Birmingham, with a paramilitary guard of honour.[15] These plans were altered after the British Home Secretary vowed that such a funeral, and any associated sympathy marches,[16] would be prevented.[15] Councils in the West Midlands chose to ban any processions linked to the death of McDade under the Public Order Act 1936.[17]

McDade's body was driven to Birmingham Airport and flown to Ireland on the afternoon of 21 November 1974. Initially, his body had been scheduled to be flown to Belfast Airport; however, upon learning that staff at the airport had refused to handle the coffin,[18] McDade's body was instead flown to Dublin. All police leave was cancelled on this date, with an extra 1,300 officers drafted into Birmingham to quell any unrest as the hearse carrying McDade's coffin was driven to the airport.[19] (McDade's body was buried in Milltown Cemetery in his birth town of Belfast on 23 November.)

According to a senior Provisional IRA figure, tensions within the Birmingham IRA unit were "running high" over the disrupted funeral arrangements for James McDade.[4]

The bombings

In the early evening hours of 21 November, a minimum of three bombs connected to timing devices were planted inside two separate public houses and outside a bank located in and around central Birmingham. It is unknown precisely when these bombs were planted, although if official IRA protocol of preceding attacks upon non-military installations with a 30-minute advance warning to security services was followed, and subsequent eyewitness accounts are accurate,[20] the bombs would have been planted at these locations sometime after 19:30 and shortly before 19:47 in the evening. According to testimony delivered at the 1975 trial of the six men wrongly convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings, the bomb planted inside the Mulberry Bush was concealed inside either a duffel bag or briefcase,[21] whereas the bomb planted inside the Tavern in the Town was concealed inside a briefcase or duffel bag (possibly concealed within a large, sealed plastic bag) and Christmas cracker boxes.[22][23] The remnants of two alarm clocks recovered from the site of each explosion leaves the possibility that two bombs had been planted at each public house, although the actual explosion crater at each location indicates that if two bombs had been planted at each public house, they would each have been placed in the same location and likely the same container.[24]

Reportedly, those who planted these bombs then walked to a preselected phone box to telephone the advance warning to security services; however, the phone box had been vandalised, forcing the caller to find an alternative phone box and thus shortening the amount of time police had to clear the locations.[25]

New Street in central Birmingham facing the cylindrical Rotunda. Visible on the right are the sign and doorway of The Yard of Ale; the premises formerly occupied by the Tavern in the Town

At 20:11, an unknown man with a distinct Irish accent telephoned the Birmingham Post newspaper. The call was answered by an operator named Ian Cropper. To Cropper, this individual stated the words: "There is a bomb planted in the Rotunda and there is a bomb in New Street at the tax office. This is Double X", before terminating the call. (Double X was a then-used official IRA code word recited to authenticate any warning call.[26]) A similar warning was also sent to the Birmingham Evening Mail newspaper, with the anonymous caller(s) again giving the official IRA code word to indicate the authenticity of these threats, but again failing to specifically name the actual public houses in which the bombs had been planted.[4][27][28]

Mulberry Bush

The Rotunda was a 25-storey office block that housed the Mulberry Bush pub on its lower two floors.[29] Within minutes of the warning, police arrived and began checking the upper floors of the Rotunda, but they did not have sufficient time to clear the crowded pub at street level. At 20:17, just six minutes after the first warning had been sent, the bomb—which had been concealed inside either a duffel bag or briefcase located close to the rear entrance to the premises—exploded, devastating the pub.[30] The explosion blew a crater measuring 40 inches (101 cm) in the concrete floor, collapsing part of the roof and trapping many casualties beneath girders and concrete blocks. Many buildings near the Rotunda were also damaged and passersby in the street were struck by flying glass from shattered windows. Several of the fatalities were killed outright, including two youths who had been walking past the premises at the moment of the explosion.[24]

Ten people were killed in this explosion and dozens were injured, including many who would lose one or more limbs. Several casualties had been impaled by sections of wooden furniture;[31] others had their clothes burned from their bodies. A paramedic called to the scene of this explosion would later describe the carnage as being reminiscent of a slaughterhouse, whereas one fireman would state that, upon seeing a writhing, "screaming torso", he had begged police to allow a television crew inside the premises to film the dead and dying at the scene, in the hope the IRA would see the consequences of their actions; however, the police refused this request, fearing the reprisals would be extreme.[32]

One of those injured was a 21-year-old woman named Maureen Carlin, who had such extensive shrapnel wounds to her stomach and bowel she told her fiancé, Ian Lord (himself badly wounded in the explosion): "If I die, just remember I love you".[33] Carlin was given the last rites and surgeons at first doubted she would live, but she recovered from her wounds.

Tavern in the Town

The Tavern in the Town was a basement pub on New Street, 50 yards (46 m) from the Rotunda and directly beneath the New Street Tax Office.[3] Patrons there had heard the explosion at the Mulberry Bush,[34] but did not believe that the sound (described by one survivor as a "muffled thump"[35]) was an explosion.[36] Police had begun attempting to clear the Tavern in the Town when, at 20:27, a second bomb exploded there. The blast was so powerful that several victims were blown through a brick wall. Their remains were wedged between the rubble and live underground electric cables that supplied the city centre.[37] One of the first police officers on the scene, Brian Yates, described the scene as "absolutely dreadful", with several of the dead stacked upon one another, others strewn about the ruined pub,[3] and several screaming survivors staggering aimlessly amongst the debris, rubble,[22] and severed limbs.[38] One of these survivors said the sound of the explosion was replaced by a "deafening silence" and the smell of burnt flesh.[39]

Rescue efforts at the Tavern in the Town were initially hampered as the bomb had been placed at the base of a set of stairs descending from the street which had been destroyed in the explosion,[23] and the premises had been accessible solely via this entrance. The victims whose bodies had been blown through a brick wall and wedged between the rubble and underground electric cables would take up to three hours to recover, as recovery operations would be delayed until the power could be isolated.[33] A passing West Midlands bus was also destroyed in the blast.[40]

This bomb killed a further nine people outright and injured everyone in the pub—many severely.[41] Two of the injured later died of their injuries: 28-year-old barman Thomas Chaytor died on 28 November,[42] and 34-year-old James Craig also succumbed to his injuries on 10 December.[43]

After the second explosion, police evacuated all pubs and businesses in Birmingham City Centre and commandeered all available rooms in the nearby City Centre Hotel as an impromptu first-aid post.[29] All bus services into the city centre were halted, and taxi drivers were encouraged to transport those lightly injured in the explosions to hospital.[29] Prior to the arrival of ambulances, rescue workers removed critically injured casualties from each scene upon makeshift stretchers constructed from devices such as tabletops and wooden planks. These severely injured casualties would be placed on the pavement and given first response treatment prior to the arrival of paramedics.[37]

Hagley Road

At 21:15, a third bomb, concealed inside two plastic bags, was found in the doorway of a Barclays Bank on Hagley Road, approximately two miles from the site of the first two explosions. This device consisted of 13.5lbs[20] of Frangex connected to a timer, and was intended to detonate at 23:00.[44][45] The detonator to this device activated when a policeman prodded the bags with his truncheon, but the bomb failed to explode.[46][47] This bomb was destroyed in a controlled explosion early the following morning.[48]

Fatalities

Altogether, 21 people were killed and 182 injured in the Birmingham pub bombings, making them the deadliest terrorist attack in mainland Britain during the Troubles.[49] Residents of Birmingham have referred to the Birmingham pub bombings as the "darkest day" in their city's history.[50]

Many of those wounded were left permanently disabled, including one young man who lost both legs, and a young woman who was blinded by shrapnel. Most of the dead and wounded were young people between the ages of 17 and 30, including a young couple on their first date, and two brothers of Irish descent: Desmond and Eugene Reilly (aged 21 and 23 respectively). The wife of Desmond Reilly gave birth to his first child four months after his death.[51] One of the victims, 18-year-old Maxine Hambleton, had only entered the Tavern in the Town to hand out tickets to friends for her housewarming party. She was killed seconds after entering the pub and had been standing directly beside the bomb when it exploded, killing her instantly. Her friend, 17-year-old Jane Davis, was the youngest victim of the bombings and had entered the Tavern in the Town to view holiday photographs she had had developed that afternoon.[15][52][53]

Mulberry Bush: 20:17 p.m.

  • Michael Beasley (30)
  • Stanley Bodman (51)
  • James Caddick (40)
  • Paul Davies (20)
  • Charles Gray (44)
  • John Jones (51)
  • Neil Marsh (17)
  • Pamela Palmer (19)
  • John Rowlands (46)
  • Trevor Thrupp (33)

Tavern in the Town: 20:27 p.m.

  • Lynn Bennett (18)
  • Thomas Chaytor (28)
  • James Craig (34)
  • Jane Davis (17)
  • Maxine Hambleton (18)
  • Anne Hayes (19)
  • Marylin Nash (22)
  • Desmond Reilly (21)
  • Eugene Reilly (23)
  • Maureen Roberts (20)
  • Stephen Whalley (21)

Initial reaction

The bombings stoked considerable anti-Irish sentiment in Birmingham, which had an Irish community of 100,000. Irish people were shunned from public places and subjected to physical assaults,[29][54] verbal abuse and death threats.[55] Both in Birmingham and across England,[29] Irish homes, pubs, businesses and community centres were attacked, in some cases with firebombs.[29] Staff at thirty factories across the Midlands went on strike in protest at the bombings, while workers at airports across England refused to handle flights bound for Ireland.[29] Bridget Reilly, the mother of the two Irish brothers killed in the Tavern in the Town explosion, was herself refused service in local shops, owing to her Irish heritage.[51]

The bombings were immediately blamed on the IRA,[3] despite the organisation not having claimed responsibility.[56] Because of the anger against Irish people in Birmingham after the bombings, the IRA's Army Council placed the city "strictly off-limits" to IRA active service units.[57] In Northern Ireland, loyalist paramilitaries launched a wave of revenge attacks on Irish Catholics: within two days of the bombings, five Catholic civilians had been shot dead by loyalists.[58]

First IRA statement

Two days after the bombings, the Provisional IRA issued a formal statement in which they denied any responsibility. Although the statement stressed that a detailed internal investigation was underway to determine the possibility of any rogue members' involvement,[49] the Provisional IRA emphasised that the methodology of the attacks contradicted the official IRA code of conduct when attacking non-military targets, whereby adequate warnings would be sent to security services to ensure the safety of civilians.[59][60] Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, then-president of Sinn Féin, conducted an internal investigation which he stated confirmed the bombings had not been sanctioned by the IRA leadership.[60]

The Provisional IRA have never officially admitted responsibility for the Birmingham pub bombings.

Prevention of Terrorism Act

Within four days of the bombings, Roy Jenkins, the Home Secretary, announced that the Irish Republican Army was to be proscribed within the UK.[61] Two days later, on 27 November, Jenkins introduced the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1974; an Act which granted the police in mainland Britain the right to arrest, detain, and question individuals for a period of up to seven days if they were suspected of the commission or preparation of an act of terrorism on the British mainland, and their subsequent deportation to either Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland if culpability was proven. Jenkins later described the measures of this Act as being "draconian measures unprecedented in peacetime".[59]

In response to public pressure, a separate debate within the House of Commons as to whether those convicted of terrorist offences should face the death penalty was held on 11 December 1974. This motion drew the support of more than 200 MPs,[62] although the majority of those in Parliament voted against the restoration of the death penalty,[63] in part due to fear that such a move could have encouraged the IRA to use children to plant bombs.[56][64]

The Prevention of Terrorism Act became law on 29 November,[59] and would remain in force until the passage of the Terrorism Act in July 2000.[29][59][65]

Forensic analysis

An analysis of the remnants of the bombs placed at the Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town revealed these devices had been constructed in a similar manner to the bomb placed at Hagley Road. Each bomb placed inside the public houses would have weighed between 25 and 30 lbs,[32] and had contained numerous shards of metal.[66] Furthermore, this forensic analyst was also able to state that the construction of these devices was very similar to that of seven other bombs and incendiary devices discovered at various locations in Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton in the 16 days prior to the Birmingham pub bombings,[20] and that the explosive material used to construct the bomb discovered at Hagley Road was of a brand solely manufactured in the Irish Republic, which could not legally be imported into Britain. All these factors led the explosives expert to conclude that all three bombs had been manufactured by the same individual or individuals, and that it was likely that whoever had constructed these bombs had also committed previous IRA attacks.[3][67] This conclusion was further supported by the actual methodology of the attacks, and the official IRA code word given to the Birmingham Evening Mail and Birmingham Post newspapers minutes prior to the explosions.

Arrest of the Birmingham Six

For more details on this topic, see Birmingham Six.

At 19:55 on 21 November (scarcely 20 minutes before the first bomb had exploded), five Irishmen—Patrick Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, William Power and John Walker—had boarded a train at Birmingham New Street station. These men—who, alongside Hugh Callaghan, would become known as the "Birmingham Six"[68]—were originally from Northern Ireland. Five of the Birmingham Six hailed from Belfast, whereas John Walker had lived in Derry until age 16. All six men had lived in Birmingham for between 11 and 27 years respectively and, although they had known James McDade and/or his family to varying degrees,[29][69] each man was adamant they had not known of his IRA affiliations.[70]

When the bombs exploded, the booking clerk from whom the men had purchased tickets informed police that a man with an Irish accent, dressed in a dust-covered purple suit, had purchased a ticket to travel to the coastal village of Heysham, en route to Belfast. This individual had then run onto the train. A spot check on ticket sales that evening revealed that four further tickets to travel to Belfast via Heysham had also been issued.[71] Within three hours of the bombings, each man had been detained at Heysham Port and taken to Morecambe police station to undergo forensic tests to eliminate them as suspects in the bombings. Each man expressed their willingness to assist in these inquiries, having informed the officers of a half-truth as to the reason they had been travelling to Belfast: that they intended to visit their families (although they also intended to attend the funeral of James McDade).

Between 03:00 and 06:10[72] the following morning, forensic scientist Dr. Frank Skuse conducted a series of Griess tests upon the hands, fingernails and belongings of the five men arrested at Heysham Port, to determine whether any of the men had handled nitroglycerine (an active ingredient in the manufacture of explosive devices). Skuse concluded with a 99% degree of certainty that both Patrick Hill and William Power had handled explosives,[73] and remained uncertain as to the test results conducted on John Walker, whose right hand had tested positive, but whose left hand had tested negative.[74] (The test results upon both Hunter and McIlkenny had been negative.)

Each man was then ordered to change his clothes. A search of Walker's possessions revealed several mass cards printed in reference to the upcoming funeral of James McDade.[75] Upon discovering these mass cards, two officers led Walker into an adjacent room, where he was repeatedly punched, kicked and, later, burned with a lit cigarette[76] by three officers as his arms were restrained by the two policemen who had escorted him into the room. Similar assaults would be endured by Power, Hunter, Hill and, to a lesser degree, McIlkenny,[77] although the officers who administered these beatings took great care to avoid marking the men's faces.[78] At 12:55 on the afternoon of 22 November, while detained at Morecambe police station, William Power signed a false confession admitting his involvement in the Birmingham pub bombings. This confession was extracted after Power had been subjected to extreme physical and psychological abuse, which included repeated kicking in the stomach, head and legs, dragging by the hair, and enduring the stretching of his scrotum.[79]

False confessions

Despite their protestations of innocence, the five men were transferred to the custody of the West Midlands Serious Crime Squad on the afternoon of 22 November.[80] At 22:45 that evening, Hugh Callaghan would be arrested at his home in Birmingham[81] and driven to Sutton Coldfield police station, where he was briefly questioned before being detained in a cell overnight, but intentionally denied sleep.[82] The same evening Callaghan was arrested, the homes of all six men would be extensively—and unsuccessfully—searched for explosives and explosive material.[83]

Following their transfer to the custody of the West Midlands Crime Squad, three other members of the Birmingham Six (Callaghan, McIlkenny and Walker) would sign false confessions on 23 November. In these three further false statements obtained by the West Midlands Crime Squad, Callaghan, McIlkenny and Walker each falsely claimed to be members of the IRA; to have conspired with James McDade to cause explosions prior to his death; and to have planted the bombs at the Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town public houses. As had been the case with William Power while detained at Morecambe police station, the three men would claim that, prior to and upon their being transferred to Birmingham, officers had coerced them into signing these confessions through severe physical, psychological and emotional abuse. This mistreatment included beatings, deprivation of food and sleep, being subject to mock executions, intimidation, being burned with lit cigarettes,[48] and being forced to stand or squat in various stress positions.[84] In addition, each man had heard threats directed against their families.[85] Both Hill and Hunter would also state they had been subject to the same mistreatment, and although both men had refused to sign false confessions, police would later claim both men had given verbal confessions as to their guilt.

On 24 November, each man was initially charged with the murder of 17-year-old Jane Davis, who had been killed in the Tavern in the Town explosion.[86] All six were remanded in custody at Winson Green Prison, and each man would only be assigned a solicitor the following day.[49]

Inside Winson Green Prison, all six men were subject to the same mistreatment at the hands of prison officers as they had endured at the hands of police, with one of the men losing four teeth in one assault. At a further court hearing on 28 November, each man was observed to have extensive facial injuries; an examination by a prison doctor revealed each man had received extensive injuries not only to their faces, but across their bodies. (Following an independent investigation into this mistreatment, the British Director of Public Prosecutions recommended that 14 prison warders be charged with assault. These men were suspended from duty in December 1975, although all 14 were found not guilty of 90 separate charges of misconduct and assault on 15 July 1976.[78])

Second IRA statement

Although Dáithí Ó Conaill (then a member of the Provisional IRA's Army Council), had just four days prior to the Birmingham pub bombings issued a statement declaring that the "consequences of war" would incessantly be felt not only in Northern Ireland, but on the British mainland, until the British government announced their intentions to "disengage from Ireland",[8] one week after the Birmingham Six had been formally charged with the murder of Jane Davis, Ó Conaill issued a further statement emphasising that none of the Birmingham Six had ever been members of the IRA. In this official statement, Ó Conaill stated:

“ If IRA members had carried-out such attacks, they would be court-martialled and could face the death penalty. The IRA has clear guidelines for waging its war. Any attack on non-military installations must be preceded by a 30-minute warning so that no innocent civilians are endangered.[64] ”

Committal hearing

At a committal hearing in May 1975, each man was formally charged with 21 counts of murder, with additional charges of conspiracy to cause explosions. Due to the wave of public outrage towards the perpetrators of the Birmingham pub bombings within the Midlands, Judge Nigel Bridge conceded to defence motions to move the trial away from the Midlands, and the trial was set to be heard within the Shire Hall and Crown Court of Lancaster Castle[87] the following month. Also to stand trial with the Birmingham Six were three men named Michael Murray (a known member of the Provisional IRA who had previously been convicted of a separate charge of conspiracy to cause explosions), James Kelly and Michael Sheehan. Murray was also charged with conspiracy to cause explosions across the Midlands, with Kelly and Sheehan also charged with possession of explosives.[88]

Prior to the trial, defence lawyers for the Birmingham Six formally applied for their clients to be tried separately from Sheehan, Kelly and, particularly, Murray, stating that their clients' presumptions of innocence and denials of association with the IRA would be tainted if they were tried alongside an admitted member of the Provisional IRA, who had been convicted of causing explosions. This application was rejected by Judge Bridge, who was to preside over the trial.[89]

The Shire Hall and Crown Court of Lancaster Castle. The Birmingham Six were tried at this location in 1975[87]

Trial

On 9 June 1975, the Birmingham Six stood trial at Lancaster Crown Court before Judge Nigel Bridge. Each man was charged with 21 counts of murder[90] and conspiring with the deceased James McDade to cause explosions across the Midlands between August and November 1974.[91] Michael Murray, James Kelly and Michael Sheehan were also charged with conspiracy to cause explosions across the Midlands, with Kelly and Sheehan facing the additional charges of possession of explosives.

All six men emphatically maintained their innocence, stating they had never been members of the IRA; that they had not known James McDade had been a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army until his death; and reiterating their earlier claims of having been subject to intense physical and psychological abuse upon their arrest. Sheehan and Kelly also denied the charges brought against them, with Murray simply refusing to acknowledge or speak throughout the entire proceedings. (No direct evidence was offered to link Murray, Sheehan or Kelly with the Birmingham pub bombings. Nonetheless, the Crown alleged they were part of the same IRA unit as the Birmingham Six, and contended the Birmingham pub bombs may have been planted "in some illogical way" to avenge or commemorate the death of James McDade.[92])

The primary evidence presented against the Birmingham Six linking them to the Birmingham pub bombings were their written confessions, the Griess tests conducted by Dr. Frank Skuse at Morecambe police station, and circumstantial evidence indicative of Irish republican sympathies which would be supported by character witnesses who were called to testify on behalf of the prosecution.[93]

Dr. Frank Skuse testified as to his conducting Griess tests upon the hands of the six men following their arrest. Skuse testified as to his being 99% certain that both Hill and Power had handled explosive materials, and to a possibility Walker had also done so, although Skuse conceded that he could not rule out the possibility that Walker's right hand could have been contaminated from his (Skuse's) own hands,[74] as Walker was the last of the five men to be swabbed at Morecambe police station, and had at first tested negative to the Griess test, before a second swab had revealed faint, positive traces of ammonium and nitrates.[75] This testimony was refuted by Dr. Hugh Kenneth Black, a former Chief Inspector of Explosives for the Home Office, who testified that a range of innocuous substances and objects one could handle on a daily basis containing nitrocellulose (such as varnishes and paints) would produce a positive result to a Griess test. Moreover, the tests conducted by Dr. Skuse had not succeeded in identifying nitroglycerine as the source of the positive results produced by the Griess tests, and the Crown had earlier conceded that an exhaustive search of the six men's homes had revealed no traces of nitroglycerine.[94]

Several weeks into the trial, Judge Bridge overruled motions from the defence counsel that the four written confessions obtained from their clients should be omitted from evidence due to their being extorted under extreme physical and mental pressure—instead citing the statements as admissible evidence. These written confessions would be presented in evidence at the trial following an eight-day hearing conducted outside the presence of the jury.[95] The judge refused to allow the jury to view the written confessions,[96] which would have disclosed not only that each of the four written confessions contradicted details contained within the three other confessions, but that they also contradicted testimony from forensic scientists delivered earlier in the trial as to the devices used to conceal the bombs, and the locations in which they had been placed inside the public houses. For example, William Power had claimed in his written confession that he had placed the bomb which devastated the Mulberry Bush public house by a jukebox at the foot of a staircase to the premises; whereas a forensic scientist named Douglas Higgs had testified on the fourth day of the trial that the bomb which had detonated within these premises had been left by a wall located towards the rear of the premises.[97]

Conviction

The trial lasted 45 days, and saw one hundred witnesses testify on behalf of the prosecution and defence.[89] On 14 August 1975, the jury retired to consider their verdicts. These deliberations continued until the following day.[98]

On the afternoon of 15 August, having deliberated for over six-and-a-half hours, the jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts in relation to the 21 murder charges against the Birmingham Six.[78] Upon passing sentence, Judge Nigel Bridge informed the defendants: "You stand convicted of each of 21 counts, on the clearest and most overwhelming evidence I have ever heard, of the crime of murder."[99] All six men were sentenced to life imprisonment. None of the Birmingham Six displayed any emotion upon hearing the verdict, although William Power did salute the judge.

At the same trial, Michael Murray and Michael Sheehan were each convicted of conspiracy to cause explosions and sentenced to nine years' imprisonment.[90] James Kelly was found not guilty of conspiracy to cause explosions, but guilty of the possession of explosives and sentenced to one year's imprisonment, although his counsel, Edwin Jowett, successfully argued that his client had already served the equivalent of a one-year sentence. Kelly would be released from prison on 23 August.[100]

After sentencing all nine defendants, Judge Bridge summoned the Chief Constable of Lancashire and the Assistant Chief Constable of the West Midlands to hear a final address; both were commended for their collective efforts in interrogating and obtaining the four confessions presented in evidence. In addressing the defendants' assertions as to physical and psychological abuse while in the custody of both constabularies, Judge Bridge concluded: "These investigations both at Morecambe and Birmingham were carried out with scrupulous propriety by all your officers".[101]

Appeals and independent reviews

Following their conviction, the Birmingham Six continued to steadfastly maintain their innocence. All six men did submit an application to appeal their convictions, although this motion was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in March 1976.[102]

Two years later, in November 1978, the Birmingham Six were granted legal aid to sue the Lancashire and West Midlands Police forces, and the Home Office, through the Court of Appeal in relation to the injuries they had suffered in custody. This motion to appeal their convictions on these grounds was challenged by the West Midlands Police, and was formally stricken by Lord Denning in January 1980,[103] thereby thwarting the attempts of the men to find legal redress for their grievances via these grounds. The Birmingham Six were initially refused permission to further appeal against their convictions.[104] The following year, Patrick Hill embarked on a month-long hunger strike[105] in an unsuccessful bid to have his case reopened.[106]

In 1982, Patrick Hill was visited by civil rights lawyer Gareth Peirce, who agreed to act on his behalf. Peirce also encouraged Hill and his co-accused to continue to compile evidence attesting to their innocence and to write to media personnel such as journalist Chris Mullin, and politicians such as Sir John Farr in an effort to garner support for a review of their case. Sir John Farr responded to this correspondence in March 1983, and would later thoroughly review all documents relating to the men's conviction: Farr concluded the forensic evidence which existed against the Birmingham Six was "not worth the paper it was written on".[107]

In 1985, the current affairs programme World in Action presented the first of six episodes focusing upon the Birmingham pub bombings which seriously challenged the validity of the convictions of the Birmingham Six. In this first episode broadcast, two distinguished forensic scientists conducted a series of Griess tests upon 35 separate common substances which the men had likely come into contact within their everyday lives. Each forensic scientist was able to confirm that only those substances containing nitrocellulose produced a positive result, and that the Griess test would only produce a positive reaction to nitrocellulose if conducted in a room with an average room temperature. When asked to comment on testimony delivered at the trial of the Birmingham Six, in which Dr. Skuse had stated that the temperature in a room in which the Griess test was conducted would need to be heated to 60 °C to produce a false positive reaction to nitrocellulose (and thereby confuse the reading with nitroglycerine), one of the forensic scientists stated, "Frankly, I was amazed."[108]

Also appearing on this first World in Action episode broadcast was a former West Midlands policeman, who confirmed that each of the Birmingham Six had been subjected to beatings and threats while in the custody of the West Midlands Crime Squad.[109] In addition, a former IRA Chief of Staff also acknowledged on this programme that IRA members had indeed perpetrated in the Birmingham pub bombings.[110]

In 1986, journalist Chris Mullin published Error of Judgement: Truth About the Birmingham Bombings, which provided further evidence that the men had been wrongly convicted. The book also included anonymous interviews with some of those who claimed to have been involved in the bombings. These individuals claimed the protocol 30-minute warning bomb warning had been delayed because the preselected telephone box had been vandalised, and that by the time another telephone box was found, the advance warning had been significantly delayed.[111]

1987 Court of Appeal hearing

In January 1987, the Home Office referred the conviction of the Birmingham Six to the Court of Appeal. This motion resulted from the findings of forensic scientists working for the Home Office, who had expressed grave concerns as to the reliability of the Griess tests cited as forensic evidence of the defendants' guilt. In granting this motion, the Home Secretary himself emphasised that he had "little or no confidence" in the reliability of this test.[112] This appeal was formally heard before three judges of the Court of Appeal in November 1987. At this hearing, the defence counsels argued that the Birmingham Six were victims of a gross miscarriage of justice, that they had been convicted upon unreliable forensic evidence, and that the signed confessions were contradictory and had been obtained under extreme physical and mental duress. The allegations of physical mistreatment were corroborated by a former policeman named Thomas Clarke, who testified as to the defendants' mistreatment while incarcerated at Winson Green Prison.[113]

This appeal also heard evidence from journalist Chris Mullin, who testified in detail as to the contradictions in the written and verbal confessions obtained from the defendants, both with regards to the actual events of the day, and with regards to the content of the statements made by their fellow defendants—all purported by the Crown to be solid evidence. Mullin also testified as to the fundamental flaws in the forensic tests conducted upon the men's hands for traces of nitroglycerine.[114]

These allegations were refuted by Mr. Igor Judge QC, who informed the three judges of the Court of Appeal of the Crown's contention that the allegations that police had obtained false confessions by subjecting the men to severe physical and emotional abuse was "baseless", and of his belief that only film footage of the defendants actually planting the bombs would provide stronger evidence than that which already existed against the Birmingham Six.[115]

On 28 January 1988, the Lord Chief Justice again declared the convictions of the Birmingham Six as safe, and upheld their convictions.[102][116]

Further media exposure

In March 1990, ITV broadcast the Granada Television documentary drama, Who Bombed Birmingham?; a drama which recounted the events of the arrest of the Birmingham Six, the evidence presented at the trial and the then-ongoing efforts of Chris Mullin to prove Birmingham Six had been the victims of a miscarriage of justice. This documentary drama extensively detailed both the flaws in the forensic evidence against the men, and the extensive physical and psychological abuse to which they had been subjected. The programme formally named four of five members of the Provisional IRA as having organised and committed the Birmingham pub bombings.[117] One of these men was Michael Murray, who had been tried alongside the Birmingham Six and convicted of conspiracy to cause explosions.[118] Murray was named as the individual who had assisted in the selection of the targets, and had later placed the delayed advance warning call to the Birmingham Post and Birmingham Evening Mail newspapers. The other three individuals formally named within this documentary were Seamus McLoughlin, whom the programme asserted had also planned the atrocities; James Francis Gavin (a.k.a. James Kelly, who had likewise been tried alongside the Birmingham Six and convicted of the possession of explosives), who had allegedly constructed each of the bombs; and Michael Christopher Hayes,[119] who had planted the bombs at the preselected locations.

The executive producer of Who Bombed Birmingham?, Ray Fitzwalter, has formally stated that those involved in the production of this documentary drama are 100 percent certain that those formally named as the perpetrators of the Birmingham pub bombings had committed the atrocities.[117]

"I don't complain that we have a legal system that makes mistakes; that can happen anywhere in the world. What I complain about is that we lack the mechanism for owning up to mistakes".

Chris Mullin, reflecting on the struggle he and others had undertaken to prove the innocence of the Birmingham Six on the day of their release. 14 March 1991.[120]

Release

On 29 August 1990, as a result of further fresh evidence uncovered following the 1988 dismissal of appeal, the Home Secretary again referred the convictions of the Birmingham Six to the Court of Appeal. This appeal was heard by Lord Justice Lloyd between 4 and 14 March 1991.[67] At the conclusion of this second appeal, the convictions of the Birmingham Six were quashed upon the bases of police fabrication of evidence, the suppression of evidence, and the unreliability of the scientific evidence presented at their 1975 trial. The tests conducted by Dr. Skuse upon the defendants' hands for nitroglycerine were deemed by the three Court of Appeal judges as being particularly unreliable and "demonstrably wrong ... even by the state of forensic science in 1974".[121][122][123]

The discrediting of this evidence was sufficient for the Crown to dismiss pleas from the prosecution to find the convictions "unsatisfactory but not unsafe". On the afternoon on 14 March, Lord Justice Lloyd formally announced his intentions to withdraw the Crown's case against the defendants. Upon announcing his intention to withdraw the convictions, Lord Justice Lloyd informed the Birmingham Six: "In the light of the fresh evidence which has been made available since the last hearing in this court, your appeals will be allowed and you are free to go."[124]

Emerging from the Old Bailey to an ecstatic public reception,[125][126][127] each of the men addressed the press and public with varying cathartic statements illustrating their disgust and dismay at having been wrongfully convicted, but of their determination not to allow these wrongful convictions to dominate their life.[128]

In 2001, each of the Birmingham Six would subsequently receive between £840,000 and £1.2million in compensation.[129]

Wreath laid by the family of Maxine Hambleton at the memorial plaque to the 21 victims of the Birmingham pub bombs.

Ongoing campaign for justice

In 2011, the brother and sister of Maxine Hambleton initiated a campaign called Justice for the 21. The campaign is spearheaded by Brian and Julie Hambleton, who lost their 18-year-old sister, Maxine, in the Tavern in the Town explosion.[130] The stated aims of this ongoing campaign are to highlight and resolve the fact that, although officially an open inquiry, no efforts are being made to actively pursue the perpetrators of the Birmingham pub bombings unless significant new leads are to surface, and to resolve the issue that the families of the 21 victims have never seen true justice for the loss of their loved ones.[130] Justice for the 21 has a collective determination to see the criminal investigation into the bombings formally reopened, and the perpetrators brought to justice or, if deceased, publicly named.[131]

When asked in 2012 why she and her brother had instigated this campaign, Julie Hambleton stated: "Someone has to fight for them; someone has to speak on their behalf, because they're not here to do it themselves ... It doesn’t matter how much time has passed."[132]

Campaigners within Justice for the 21 believe they have amassed evidence indicating that a British double agent was part of an IRA unit that had committed the Birmingham pub bombings.[133][134]

Patrick Hill—who has publicly backed the efforts of the Justice for the 21 campaign—would also later state that, following their 1991 release from prison, the Birmingham Six had been informed of the names of the true perpetrators of the Birmingham pub bombings, and that their identities are known among the upper echelons of both the IRA and the British Government.[135] In addition, Hill also states that, following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, he has been told five members of the Provisional IRA have admitted they had committed the Birmingham pub bombings. Hill also states that the reason for this admission is that one clause of the Good Friday Agreement is an immunity from prosecution. Two of these men have since died; a further two have been promised immunity; whereas a fifth individual has not received any such assurances of immunity from prosecution.[136][137]

The memorial plaque to the 21 victims of the Birmingham pub bombs within the grounds of St. Philip's Cathedral

Aftermath

Patrick Hill in 2015. He is seen here addressing an audience as to his advocacy in fighting miscarriages of justice
“ Patrick [Hill] clarified the details of this and the significance of this in relation to the truth being known. With reference to the kind of information that is hidden in these files, it's anyone's guess. But, for us, knowing that they [the files relating to the Birmingham pub bombings] have been locked away for so long, only adds weight to our argument that the government and the police do not want this information to be known until we are all dead. Why do you think that might be? What do they have to hide and who are they protecting? ”

"Nobody ever apologised to us. We done sixteen and a half years. What happened 30 years ago was a disaster. People say 21 people lost their lives that day. What about the six men who went to prison? We lost our lives also. I felt sorry for what happened in Birmingham that night, but people must remember I done sixteen and a half years in prison for something I did not do."

John Walker of the Birmingham Six, reflecting on the Birmingham pub bombings, 2004.[147]

Media

Films

Books

Television

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Telegraph 21 November 2014
  2. ↑ The Birmingham Framework -Six Innocent Men Framed for the Birmingham Bombings; Fr. Denis Faul and Fr. Raymond Murray (1976)
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Birmingham pub blasts kill 19". BBC News. 21 November 1974. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
  4. 1 2 3 Birmingham Mail 9 December 2014
  5. ↑ Kentucky New Era 14 March 1991
  6. ↑ The Prevention of Terrorism in British Law pp. 31–32
  7. ↑ "Britain 'defiant' as bombers kill 52 in attack on the heart of London". The Times. 8 July 2005. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
  8. 1 2 Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA p. 169
  9. ↑ O'Day, Alan. Political Violence in Northern Ireland p.20
  10. ↑ BBC News 4 March 2011
  11. ↑ Gibson, Brian. The Birmingham Bombs. 1976. p. 50
  12. ↑ Gibson. p. 49
  13. ↑ Birmingham Mail 21 November 2011
  14. ↑ The Glasgow Herald 3 November 1987
  15. 1 2 3 Lost Lives p. 494
  16. ↑ The Dispatch 22 November 1974
  17. ↑ "Processions"; Hansard 10 March 1978
  18. ↑ ITNSource.com
  19. ↑ freelibrary.com
  20. 1 2 3 Error of Judgement p. 5
  21. ↑ BBC14 November 2014
  22. 1 2 The Glasgow Herald 11 June 1975
  23. 1 2 Error of Judgement p. 4
  24. 1 2 Error of Judgement p. 2
  25. ↑ Irishhistorian.com
  26. ↑ Error of Judgement p. 1
  27. ↑ Dillon, Martin (1996). 25 Years of Terror: The IRA's war against the British. Bantam Books. p. 188. ISBN 0-553-40773-2.
  28. ↑ "The man who spoke to a Birmingham pub bomber: A voice calm, collected and full of hatred". Birmingham Mail. 22 November 2012.
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 McKittrick, David. Lost Lives. pp. 497–498
  30. ↑ Error of Judgement pp. 1–2
  31. ↑ Irish Times 21 November 2014
  32. 1 2 Seasons in the Sun: The Battle for Britain, 1974–1979 p. 168
  33. 1 2 Birmingham Mail 22 November 2014
  34. ↑ McKittrick, David. Lost Lives. p. 497
  35. ↑ Seasons in the Sun: The Battle for Britain, 1974–1979 p. 166
  36. ↑ BBC 20 November 2014
  37. 1 2 The Birmingham Pub Bombings, 21 November 1974. A personal account by Alan Stuart Hill
  38. ↑ Mail Online 22 November 2014
  39. ↑ ITV.com 21 November 2014
  40. ↑ "David Cameron says new Birmingham pub bombings probe unlikely". The Sunday Mercury. 22 November 2009.
  41. ↑ Birmingham Mail 21 November 2012
  42. ↑ McKittrick, Lost Lives, p. 504
  43. ↑ Lost Lives: The Stories of the Men, Women and Children who Died as a Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles pp. 504–505
  44. ↑ BBC.co.uk 27 November 2013
  45. ↑ Birmingham Mail 27 August 2013
  46. ↑ Mullin, Chris (1990). "Chapter 1". Error of Judgement (3rd ed.). Poolbeg. p. 5. ISBN 1-85371-090-3.
  47. ↑ "Third explosive on night of Birmingham pub bombings proved real culprits got away". Birmingham Mail. 24 November 2013.
  48. 1 2 Express & Star. 21 November 2014
  49. 1 2 3 Cain Events: Birmingham
  50. ↑ Birmingham Mail, 21 November 2014
  51. 1 2 McKittrick, David. Lost Lives. p. 500
  52. ↑ "Family of Teenager Killed in Birmingham Pub Bombings in 1974 'insulted' by plans for compensation". Birmingham Mail. Edward Chadwick. 3 February 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2012
  53. ↑ David McKittrick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney and Chris Thornton (2008), Lost Lives. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing, pp. 496–500
  54. ↑ "Every Briton now a target for death". Sydney Morning Herald. 1 December 1974.
  55. ↑ Irish Post 20 November 2014
  56. 1 2 Sydney Morning Herald 1 December 1974
  57. ↑ "Millimetres from disaster". Sunday Mercury. 13 April 2003.
  58. ↑ McKittrick, Lost Lives, pp. 501–502
  59. 1 2 3 4 Chronology of the Conflict: November 1974, Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN)
  60. 1 2 White, Robert W. Ruairí Ó Brádaigh: The Life and Politics of an Irish Revolutionary. Indiana University Press, 2006. pp. 221, 381
  61. ↑ cain.ulst.ac.uk
  62. ↑ Bangor Daily News 12 December 1974
  63. ↑ [Roy Jenkins; a Well-Rounded Life p. 427]
  64. 1 2 "Two-for-one reprisal vowed for each IRA member hanged". Montreal: The Gazette. 12 December 1974.
  65. ↑ Encyclopedia of Terrorism, Volume 1 p. 125
  66. ↑ Irish News 23 November 2004
  67. 1 2 miscarriagesofjustice.org
  68. ↑ "Release of Birmingham Six: Statements". Seanad Éireann 128. 15 March 1991.
  69. 1 2 The Glasgow Herald 29 January 1988
  70. ↑ Error of Judgement p. 12
  71. ↑ The Glasgow Herald 21 January 1987 p. 11
  72. ↑ Error of Judgement p. 44
  73. ↑ The Independent 2 April 1993
  74. 1 2 Error of Judgement p. 165
  75. 1 2 Error of Judgement p. 59
  76. ↑ Error of Judgement p. 60
  77. ↑ Error of Judgement p. 64
  78. 1 2 3 cain.ulster.ac.uk
  79. ↑ Error of Judgement p. 53
  80. ↑ Error of Judgement p. 54
  81. ↑ Daily Mirror 15 November 2014
  82. ↑ Error of Judgement p. 80
  83. ↑ innocent.org.uk p. 4
  84. ↑ Error of Judgement p. 72
  85. 1 2 Extract from The Birmingham Framework by Denis Faul & Raymond Murray (1976).
  86. ↑ BBC 24 November 1974
  87. 1 2 Error of Judgement p. 156
  88. 1 2 Birmingham Mail 21 November 2014
  89. 1 2 Error of Judgement p. 159
  90. 1 2 west-midlands police.co.uk
  91. ↑ The Glasgow Herald, 11 June 1975
  92. ↑ innocent.org.uk p. 5
  93. ↑ Error of Judgement pp. 161–162
  94. ↑ Error of Judgement p. 160
  95. ↑ Error of Judgement p. 187
  96. ↑ innocent.org.uk p. 6
  97. ↑ Error of Judgement p. 164
  98. ↑ Error of Judgement pp. 204–206
  99. ↑ The Glasgow Herald 16 August 1975
  100. ↑ Error of Judgement p. 207
  101. ↑ Error of Judgement p. 208
  102. 1 2 Express & Star 21 November 2014
  103. ↑ McKittrick, David. Lost Lives. p. 498
  104. ↑ innocent.org.uk p. 15
  105. ↑ Sarasota Herald-Tribune 25 November 1981
  106. ↑ Schenectady Gazette 24 November 1981
  107. ↑ Forejustice.org
  108. ↑ Error of Judgement p. 239
  109. ↑ The Glasgow Herald 21 January 1987
  110. ↑ "IRA fails to say sorry for Birmingham pub bombs". The Guardian. 22 November 2004.
  111. ↑ Mullin, Chris. Error of Judgement (3rd Edition). Poolbeg Press, pp. 153–154
  112. ↑ New Scientist 29 January 1987
  113. ↑ The Glasgow Herald 2 November 1987
  114. ↑ Reading Eagle 2 November 1987
  115. ↑ The Glasgow Herald 21 November 1987
  116. ↑ The Glasgow Herald 28 January 1988
  117. 1 2 "BRITISH TV NAMES BOMBING SUSPECTS". The New York Times. 29 March 1990.
  118. ↑ Sean O'Neill (18 November 2004). "The man behind the pub bombs in Birmingham that killed 21". The Times. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
  119. ↑ YouTube: 5:43 Who Bombed Birmingham? (Part 11)
  120. ↑ Lost Lives p. 498
  121. ↑ Birmingham Post 21 November 1974
  122. ↑ The Lessons of the IRA Cases in England p. 4
  123. ↑ Schurr. "Expert witnesses and the duties of disclosure and impartiality: The lessons of the IRA cases in England" (PDF). Retrieved 10 October 2011. Both the scientific evidence of contamination by nitroglycerine and the documents said to set out the confessions obtained by the police were found to be unreliable following the admission of fresh evidence.
  124. ↑ The Guardian 15 March 1991
  125. ↑ Expert Witnesses and the Duties of Disclosure & Impartiality: The Lessons Of The IRA Cases In England; Beverley Schurr
  126. ↑ Chronology of the Conflict: 1991, Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN)
  127. ↑ "Birmingham Six member dies in hospital". The Guardian 22 May 2006.
  128. ↑ The Guardian 12 March 2011
  129. ↑ The Independent 21 November 2014
  130. 1 2 Birmingham Press 21 November 2012
  131. ↑ "Birmingham pub bombings: Call to reopen investigation". BBC News. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  132. ↑ Birmingham Mail 2 February 2012
  133. ↑ "Birmingham pub bombing families' fury as Martin McGuinness speaks at peace conference". Birmingham Mail. 18 September 2014.
  134. 1 2 "Member of Birmingham Six challenges IRA pub bombers to come forward". The Guardian. 2 February 2014.
  135. ↑ Guardian newspaper: Birmingham Six man signs petition, 22 April 2012
  136. 1 2 Express & Star 21 November 2014
  137. ↑ Don Hale (2 March 2014). "Birmingham pub bombers given secret letters promising immunity – claims Paddy Hill". The Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
  138. ↑ "Birmingham pub bombings: Families remember victims in moving service". Birmingham Mail. 21 November 2009. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
  139. 1 2 Irish Post 21 November 2014
  140. ↑ miscarriagesofjustice.org
  141. ↑ "Birmingham pub bombings survivor told by IRA man that atrocity was 'a mistake'". Birmingham Mail. 22 November 2009.
  142. ↑ The Independent 22 April 1994
  143. ↑ BBC.co.uk 21 November 2014
  144. ↑ Express & Star 10 April 2014
  145. ↑ BBC News 7 April 2014
  146. ↑ The Justice Gap.
  147. 1 2 "IRA should apologise for pub bombings: Sinn Fein". The Guardian. 18 November 2004.
  148. ↑ The Guardian 22 May 2006
  149. ↑ IrishTimes.com 25 May 2006
  150. ↑ Daily Record 9 March 2011
  151. ↑ IRA Bombing Cases Reports
  152. ↑ Gibson, p. 148
  153. ↑ Error of Judgement pp. 153–154
  154. ↑ "Birmingham pub bombings: Ex-IRA chief admits 'we did it – and I am ashamed'". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  155. ↑ Sunderland Echo.com
  156. ↑ New York Times; 29 March 1990; British TV Names Bombing Suspects
  157. ↑ Public Issue Television: World in Action 1963–98 p. 106
  158. ↑ www.bafta.com: 1991 Awards
  159. ↑ BBC.co.uk 18 November 2013

Cited works and further reading

External links

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