The government has announced it will not establish a public inquiry into the IRA’s 1974 Birmingham pub bombings.
The attacks saw bombs detonated at the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town pubs on 21 November 1974, killing 21 people and injuring 220.
The killings remain unsolved. The convictions of six men, the so-called Birmingham Six, who were wrongly imprisoned for the crimes in 1975, were overturned in 1991 when the Court of Appeal ruled them unsafe.
In a statement on Thursday, security minister Dan Jarvis said while he had deep sympathy with the families, “after careful consideration”, the government would not commit to an inquiry.
He said it was the government’s “firm belief” that the existing Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery could effectively investigate the incident.
Julie Hambleton’s sister, Maxine, was among the 21 killed in the bombing.
Reacting to the announcement, she told the BBC: “As long as there is breath in my body I will fight for justice.”
She had previously said a failure to hold the inquiry would be “the epitome of moral and ethical turpitude”, adding only an inquiry would reveal the truth.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in September that families of the victims would “never be forgotten”, but cases would be looked at under a new legacy scheme agreed with the Irish government.
While the IRA never officially admitted responsibility, it is widely believed to have been behind the attacks.
An inquest in 2019 ruled the victims were unlawfully killed by the IRA, but did not determine the identities of those responsible.
Mr Jarvis said the existing commission was created exclusively to investigate Troubles-related cases and operated independently from the government.
“The commission has been granted a wide range of powers to access information, including from government departments, the police, and the security and intelligence agencies,” his statement said.
