Birmingham pub bomb relatives meet the DUP and Sinn Fein

By Q Radio news

Relatives of victims of the Birmingham pub bombings are in Belfast today to hold talks with the leaders of the DUP and Sinn Fein.

They're part of the  "Justice for the 21" group which was set up in the wake of the bombings which killed 21 people in November 1974.

The visit is linked to the ongoing legacy consultation but the families say they feel excluded from the proposals because their loved ones died outside Northern Ireland.

The bombs in November 1974 at the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town bars left 21 people dead and injured 182 people. Six men wrongly convicted of the attack served 16 years in prison before being released by the Court of Appeal.

Campaigner Julie Hambleton, who lost her sister Maxine in the Birmingham attacks, said now "is the time to deal with these difficult issues and we will not allow these issues to be passed on to another generation".

"Our demand is simple, that we have access to a human rights compliant mechanism to establish how and in what circumstances our loved ones died, without having to continually be campaigning for access to truth, justice and accountability which adds to our continuing trauma, deep hurt and insult, feeding suspicion as to who carried out the murders of our loved ones.

"We will engage in discussions in Belfast in the spirit of respect and with a hope that we may get some measure of assistance in our quest for a human rights compliant legal process into how our loved ones died".

A DUP spokesperson said: "We look forward to meeting with the families of those murdered in the Birmingham pub bombings.

"It is important to acknowledge that the impact of terrorism was felt by many people outside of Northern Ireland and those victims in other parts of the UK should not be overlooked."

Sinn Féin Victims' spokesperson Linda Dillon said: "Sinn Féin have been very clear that the legacy mechanisms agreed in the Stormont House Agreement should be implemented for the benefit of all victims and survivors from all sides of the conflict.

"We welcome the opportunity to meet with the relatives of the Birmingham Pub bombings to allow them to outline their concerns.".