Almost forty-six years after the incident, a 65-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday (November 18th) in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in connection with the investigation into the bombings against two Birmingham pubs which killed 21 people and injured 162 in 1974, West Midlands police said. The man was arrested under anti-terrorism legislation and his home is being searched, police said.
The attack, which targeted two pubs in Birmingham, UK, Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town, took place on November 21, 1974, at the height of Irish Republican Army (IRA) violence against British authorities in Northern Ireland. The attack was attributed to the paramilitary organization, which however never claimed responsibility.
Reopening of an investigation in 2019
A first investigation by the West Midlands police had led to the sentencing of six men to life imprisonment in 1975. But the “Birmingham six” were cleared in 1991 during a resounding appeal trial. He had indeed revealed that their confessions had been extorted by the police, who had fabricated false testimony.
The new arrest comes as part of the reopening of an investigation in February 2019 to determine the responsibilities of the state and public authorities, after a series of investigations carried out in 2016 revealed that the police allegedly had knowledge of the preparations for this double attack but had failed to prevent it. Between 1969 and 1998, more than 3,500 people were killed in the Northern Irish conflict, the “Troubles”, mainly in Northern Ireland.
