Birmingham pub bombings: IRA witness names four men he says were behind attacks

An anonymous IRA witness in the Birmingham pub bombing inquests has named four men he says were responsible for the attacks.

Twenty-one people were killed and 220 others injured in the attacks on 21 November 1974 when the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town were targeted by suspected IRA bombs.

The convicted bomber, known as witness O, told the city's coroner's court that he had been given permission "six months ago" to reveal the names of those behind the bombings by the current head of the IRA in Dublin.

Asked by Lesley Thomas QC, representing nine of the bereaved families, who he was referring to, witness O replied: "I'm not telling you his name... because he's the head of the IRA. He could be shot dead."

Witness O, speaking via a video-link, named the officer commanding the Birmingham IRA at the time as Seamus McLoughlan, and as the person responsible for selecting the targets.

He added that Mick Murray was "one of the bombers", and when pressed by Mr Thomas QC that another bomber was "Michael Hayes", witness O replied: "Hayes, Hayes - I'll give it [the name] to you now."

When asked about "James Gavin", he replied: "Well he was [involved]. I met him in Dublin and he said he was."

The barrister also asked if Michael Patrick Reilly had been involved.

He used an alleged reference to Mr Reilly, used in the book Error of Judgement by former MP and journalist Chris Mullin about the blasts, when he asked the witness: "Michael Patrick Reilly, sometimes referred to as 'The Young Planter'?

"You know who he is, don't you? He's the one you're protecting, isn't he?"

The witness replied: "Who? Protecting who? No."

Witness O told the court he was in Winson Green Prison at the time of the attacks and claimed he had given McLoughlan's name to two detectives while in jail - days after the attacks - but had heard nothing more about it.

He said two other men, whom he referred to as "Dublin Dave" and "Socks", had also been involved, but that he did not know their names.

The witness also told jurors that the Birmingham unit of the IRA used to get explosives directly from the north of Ireland. A man would drive over with the weapons concealed in a car.

Almost 45 years on, the new inquests follow a long campaign by the victims' relatives.

The families fought to have the people believed to be responsible for the attack named in court during the proceedings.

But Judge Sir Peter Thornton QC, presiding over the inquests, ruled the issue of the perpetrators would not be part of the process.

The four men identified by witness O have been named before in connection with the bombings, but not in a formal setting.

Mr Reilly and Mr Hayes have always denied any involvement in the bombings.

Six men, known as the Birmingham Six, were jailed in 1975 for the double bomb attacks, but their convictions were quashed by the Court of Appeal in 1991.

Some of the relatives in court broke down in tears as the witness said the names.

Outside the hearing, Julie Hambleton, whose sister Maxine was killed in the Tavern in the Town, said: "Witness O has today named the bombers involved in the Birmingham pub bombings.

"I have a letter from David Thompson, chief constable of West Midlands Police, that says this is an ongoing live investigation - as such we expect action.

"[We expect] information as a matter of urgency now as to what is going to happen, what, where and when."

The inquests continue.