The Birmingham pub bombing victims' families deserve answers

The successful enquiry into the Hillsborough disaster has offered a positive example of what can be achieved by a fresh look at the evidence

The decision to re-open the inquests into the Birmingham pub bombings has been welcomed (PA)

The reopening of the inquests into the deaths of 21 people killed in the 1974 IRA Birmingham pub bombings will be well-received by surviving friends and family of the deceased. The decision by Louise Hunt, senior coroner for Birmingham and Solihull, should also be welcomed by anybody with an interest in gaining a true understanding of one of the Troubles’ deadliest acts of terrorism, and the resulting miscarriage of justice that led to six men being wrongly imprisoned for the crime.

Re-examining past tragedies is a difficult business, of course. But the successful inquiry into the Hillsborough football stadium disaster has offered a positive example of what can be achieved by a fresh look at the evidence. Police forces may feel aggrieved at having their actions raked over years after the event, but there can be no time limit to the pursuit of truth and accountability.

Indeed, in reaching her decision, Ms Hunt concluded that the police may have missed two tip-offs that bombings were imminent – one on the day of the attack and another more than a week earlier. Her suggestion that by missing the advance warnings the police may thus have “failed to take the necessary steps to protect life” is potentially provocative, and it is perhaps no surprise that West Midlands Police sought to argue that she did not have jurisdiction to hear the inquests.

Relatives of those who were killed have maintained for years that state agencies ought to have prevented the attacks. There is certainly no doubt that Birmingham was in a state of heightened tension at the time, following the death of Provisional IRA man James McDade in a botched bombing a week earlier. A ban on any paramilitary-style funeral for McDade, and the subsequent repatriation of his body to the Republic of Ireland, had put IRA elements in Birmingham on edge.

In principle, the reopened inquests offer a new opportunity to unravel what happened on and around the 21 November 1974. It is to be hoped that relevant agencies and individuals will co-operate in full, so that bereaved families might finally get the answers they crave.