Police arrest man in Belfast over IRA Birmingham pub bombings which killed 21

Man, 65, being questioned in Northern Ireland after arrest under the Terrorism Act

Bomb damage near the Tavern in the Town in New Street on 21 November 1974 (PA)

Police have arrested a man in Belfast over the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings, which killed 21 victims.

Six men, known as the Birmingham Six, were wrongly convicted for the bombings in 1975 and were freed in 1991.

No-one has been arrested or prosecuted for the attack since.

On Wednesday, West Midlands Police announced that a suspect had been arrested in Belfast.

“A man has been arrested in connection with enquiries into the murders of 21 people in the 1974 pub bombings in Birmingham”, a spokeperson said.

“Officers from Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands, working with colleagues from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, arrested a 65-year-old man at his home in Belfast today.”

The man was arrested under the Terrorism Act and his home is being searched. He will be interviewed under caution at a police station in Northern Ireland.

Julie Hambleton, whose 18-year-old sister Maxine died in the bombings, called the arrest the “most monumental event” in the criminal investigation since the quashing of the Birmingham Six convictions.

She said she broke down in tears when she was informed by police, adding: “I couldn't speak, I was just inconsolable and was just looking at the picture of Maxine.

"It's welcome news. It's overwhelming news. It's tangible progress."

The bombings struck two pubs in Birmingham on 21 November 1974, killing 21 victims aged between 16 and 51 and injuring more than 200 more.

The first bomb detonated inside a bag left in the Mulberry Bush at 8.17pm, followed minutes later by another in the Tavern in the Town.

A man had telephoned the Birmingham Post and Mail to warn two bombs had been planted in the city centre less than 10 minutes before the blasts.

The IRA did not claim the bomings but were believed to be responsible, and in 2017 self-confessed bomb maker Michael Hayes said he had been part of the group behind the attacks.

Last year, a jury at new inquests into the victims’ deaths found they were unlawfully killed in a terror attack by the Provisional IRA.

In its verdict, the jury also said that a botched warning call by the republican paramilitary organisation further caused or contributed to the 21 deaths.

Last month, the home secretary said she would consider calls from bereaved families for a public inquiry.

Andy Street, the Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, raised the issue at a recent meeting following years of campaigning.

Any public inquiry or other proceedings would have to be delayed until the conclusion of the criminal investigation for legal reasons.