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Campaigners renew plea for inquiry 50 years after pub bombings
source: Shropshire Star
first published: November 2024
Image Credit: cooldesign at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Relatives of people killed in the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings have renewed calls for a public inquiry “as a matter of urgency”, as they prepare to mark the 50th anniversary of the IRA atrocities.
Julie and Brian Hambleton, whose 18-year-old sister Maxine Hambleton died in the twin blasts, believe an inquiry could disclose new evidence capable of leading to a new investigation into the bombings.
Twenty-one people died and about 200 were injured on November 21 1974 when bombs exploded minutes apart in the Mulberry Bush, at the foot of the Rotunda building, and the Tavern in the Town in New Street, in what remains the worst unsolved terrorist atrocity committed in Great Britain.
Speaking near a permanent memorial to the victims outside New Street station, within sight of the Rotunda building, Julie Hambleton said of this week’s anniversary of the attacks: “Fifty years for us is just like last week, and for the survivors too, I would imagine that they re-live it in their sleep with nightmares.”
Ms Hambleton, who founded the long-running Justice4The21 campaign group with her brother, added: “It’s something that never goes away and something that you never forget. And that’s why our campaign exists, to be the voice of those who are not here to fight for justice and truth themselves.”
Asked what he remembers of the day of the attacks, Mr Hambleton, who dropped Maxine off in the city centre, said: “Unfortunately I could narrate every minute of that evening from the very moment my sister ironed me a shirt. I asked her if she could iron me a shirt and then I would give her a lift into the city centre, which I would have done anyway.”
Mr Hambleton became emotional as he added: “That’s what I remember, dropping her off. Seeing her get out of the car and walk away."
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