Birmingham Pub Bombing families launch crowdfunding bid to challenge inquest ruling over banning names of suspects
The families of those killed in the Birmingham pub bombings today launched an online 'crowdfunding' campaign in a bid to get the suspects behind the 1974 blasts named.
The move comes after Coroner Sir Peter Thornton QC ruled that details over who was responsible for the bombings should be excluded from the resumed inquests.
They money raised will help the families to start a judicial review of the Coroner's decision at the High Court.
Julie Hambleton, who leads the campaign group Justice4the21 and whose sister Maxine was killed in the IRA attack, said: "We have been fighting for 42 years to get justice for our loved ones killed in the Birmingham pub bombings in 1974.
"We need answers as to who was responsible, yet this very issue has been excluded from the scope of the inquest. Today, we have for the first time launched a crowdfunding campaign to help us raise the funds we need to apply to the court for permission to bring a judicial review of the Coroner's ruling on the scope of the inquest".
The families' solicitor Kevin Winters, of KRW Law LLP, said: "The relatives of the victims of the Birmingham Pub Bombings 1974 have a right to seek truth, justice and accountability for the loss of their loved ones. This includes establishing who was responsible for the events, an issue which has been excluded from the scope of the inquest by the Coroner, a decision which violates Article 2 of European Convention of Human Rights as incorporated by the Human Rights Act.”
Justice4the21's fundraising campaign is being managed by CrowdJustice.
Joanna Sidhu, of CrowdJustice, said: “After 42 years of fighting for justice over the Birmingham Pub Bombings, Justice4the21 have today launched a crowdfunding campaign to ask the public for support. They're doing this to ensure justice and accountability for their loved ones who were killed.”
On November 21, 1974 bombs exploded in two Birmingham pubs killing 21 people and injuring more than 200 others. The ‘Birmingham Six’ were sentenced to life imprisonment for the atrocity but were released 16 years later when the Court of Appeal quashed their convictions. Since then, Justice4the21 have campaigned long and hard and were successful in securing the resumption of the inquest into the deaths of their loved ones.
You can donate to support Justice4the21's judicial review at by clicking here
