Chris Mullin could face private courtroom showdown as cops demand pub bombings material
| Published date | 22 February 2022 |
| Publication title | Birmingham Mail: Web Edition Articles (England) |
Today February 22, it was revealed officers had lodged a request to exclude reporters from the hearing to protect the privacy of a suspect. After a Supreme Court case in 2016, those under criminal investigation are expected to remain secret until they are charged.
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In November 1974, IRA terrorists targeted the Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town -later renamed the Yard of Ale -killing 21 people and injuring 182 others.
The so-called were jailed for life for the bombings but released in 1991 when their convictions were quashed by the Court of Appeal. Mullin helped expose the miscarriage of justice with his book Error of Judgement but has refused to reveal his sources.
During a new inquest into the deaths of 21 victims in 2019, Mr Mullin said he knew the names of all the bombers but had given an assurance to them and the IRA he wouldn’t name them while they are alive.
This led to intense criticism, including from high profile campaigner Julie Hambleton whose sister Maxine was one of the 21 people who died in the bombings. Ms Hambleton called Mullin a "disgrace" and he faced protests as he left Birmingham's Civil Justice Centre.
Police relaunched their probe into the pub bombings in 2018. In November 2020, a 65-year-old man was arrested in Belfast in connection with the bombings and he was later released.
Detectives are seeking a high court order under the Terrorism Act 2000 requiring Mullin to hand over notebooks or allow police to search his property. If he refuses to comply with any court order he could face jail.
Mr Mullin will contest the order at court with the support of the National Union of Journalists and it is understood he wishes for the hearing to be held in public. He will be contesting the application on the grounds that to disclose the material requested would be a "fundamental breach of the principle that journalists are entitled to protect their sources".
Mr Mullin said: “If West Midlands Police had carried out a proper investigation after the bombings, instead of framing the first half-dozen people unlucky enough to fall into their hands, they might have caught the...
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