Families of Birmingham victims to meet British Home Secretary over inquest

The families of those killed in the 1974 pub bombings in Birmingham are to meet the British Home Secretary Amber Rudd today.

They are hoping for news on whether the UK Government has sanctioned their request for legal aid for a resumed inquest.

Two bombs exploded in November 1974 in Birmingham city centre, killing 21 people.

Following the atrocity, six Irish men were wrongly convicted of the crime and were imprisoned for more than 16 years before their convictions were overturned.

A coroner’s ruling from this year stated that the inquest should be resumed after “significant new information” emerged suggesting West Midlands Police could have missed two warnings about the planned blast. It will take place in 2017.

Inquests into the deaths were opened after the bombing but were immediately closed following the arrests of the Birmingham Six.