Labour party backs calls for pub bombing families to receive legal funding

Central
birmingham
West Midlands
Tuesday 18 October 2016 at 8:00pm

21 people died in 1974 blasts. Credit: ITV News

The Labour party has officially backed calls for families of the Birmingham pub bombing victims to receive legal funding so they can be properly represented at fresh inquests.Diane Abbott, the Shadow Home Secretary, and Richard Burgon, the Shadow Justice Secretary, have written to the Government insisting that the relatives need financial support “to properly and fully pursue justice in memory of their loved ones.”The letter makes it clear that it is Labour’s policy, as the official opposition, to back the Justice4the21Campaign.

There is increasing concern that delays in providing funding mean families be without proper legal representation next month as fresh inquests begin into the deaths of 21 people who were victims of IRA bombs in Birmingham in 1974.Ms Abbott and Mr Burgon pointed out that questions were likely to be raised about the actions taken by West Midlands Police, and that the police would be represented by their own taxpayer-funded legal team.In a letter to Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Justice Secretary Liz Truss, they said:

“It would be unfair for the West Midlands Police to be in receipt of public funds for their part in the inquest, but for that to be denied to the families of the victims. This is particularly the case in light of concerns expressed by the Coroner about ‘potential advance notice’ regarding the attacks that may have been provided to the police in 1974. We are writing to urge you to take the steps necessary to ensure that the bereaved families in the re-opened inquest into the deaths of 21 Birmingham residents in the 1974 pub bombings receive legal funding. This is an exceptional case. These families have suffered the trauma of the bombings and the loss of their family members, and witnessed the conviction and the subsequent overturning of the decisions in the cases of the Birmingham Six. Despite the campaigning of civic leaders, community figures and the Birmingham Mail, the families remain waiting for justice 42 years later.”

21 people died when city centre bars The Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town were both destroyed in the 1974 blasts. Credit: PA

Labour MPs, including former Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham, have also backed the Justice4the21 campaign, as have local Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs and councillors.Twenty-one people died when city centre bars The Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town were both destroyed in the November 21, 1974 blasts.