Birmingham pub bombings: PM pays tribute to families but fails to offer inquiry
source: The Herald (Scotland)
first published: 25 September 2025
Image Credit: cooldesign at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Sir Keir Starmer has said the families of those killed in the Birmingham pub bombings will “never be forgotten” but failed to commit to an inquiry into Britain’s biggest unsolved mass murder.
The Prime Minister said a new legacy scheme agreed with the Irish government meant that the atrocity could “now go into that system,” indicating it will be dealt with alongside other Troubles-era deaths.
Asked whether this made a full public inquiry more likely, he said reforms to the framework were designed to “get to the bottom” of “all” issues, including the Birmingham pub bombings.
Relatives of people killed in the 1974 attacks renewed calls for the probe “as a matter of urgency” last year ahead of the 50th anniversary of the killings.
Sir Keir said at the time that the Government was “engaging with the communities and campaigners” and would “come to a decision as quickly as we can.”
Speaking to BBC Midlands on Thursday, he said: “There has been engagement by the Government with those communities and of course what we’ve done, particularly in recent weeks and months, is to set up the new legacy arrangements, which we’ve now agreed with the Irish government and will now put through the necessary legislation and that means that this case can now go into that system and so we’ve made progress there.”
Pressed on whether an inquiry was in scope, the Prime Minister said: “Well, in my view it needs to go into the new legacy arrangements because they’re designed to get to the bottom of all the legacy issues including the Birmingham pub bombing and so that’s the route that this case should now take and I’m pleased that we’ve got the legacy arrangements in place.
“It’s something that hadn’t been done for many years but we’ve now managed to get them in the right place so we’ve made progress in that respect."
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