On 22 November 1974, the IRA planted bombs in two Birmingham pubs, killing 21 people and injuring almost 200 others. Six men convicted of the bombings were later found to be innocent. Fifty years on, Chris Mullin describes how he tracked down the real bombers and the implications for the British justice. Chris will speak about why miscarriages of justice are still happening despite the major changes in police process and the judicial system. After the event, he will be signing copies of his recently republished book, Error of Judgement.
‘Whoever planted the bombs in Birmingham…also planted a bomb under the British legal establishment’. Robert Harris, The Sunday Times
‘One of the greatest feats ever achieved by an investigative reporter.’ Sebastian Faulks
‘Every so often a journalist starts an avalanche with a single gunshot’. The Observer
‘The role of Mr Chris Mullin in this sorry affair leaves a nasty odour that will not go away’. The Sun
Chris Mullin was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sunderland South from 1987 until 2010. In Parliament, he served as Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee and as Minister in the Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and in the Department for International Development.
Before being elected as an MP, Mullin was a journalist, training with the Daily Mirror. In this period, Mullin travelled to Russia and China. From there, his first main activity as a journalist came in the Vietnam War. He has been highly critical of the American strategy in Vietnam and has stated that he believes that the war, intended to stop the advance of Communism, instead only delayed the coming of market forces in the country. Mullin also reported from Cambodia in 1973 and 1980.
Mullin, working for the Granada current affairs programme World in Action, was pivotal in securing the release of the Birmingham Six, a long-standing miscarriage of justice. In 1985, the first of several World in Action programmes casting doubt on the men's convictions was broadcast. In 1986, Mullin's book, Error of Judgment: The Truth About the Birmingham Pub Bombings, set out a detailed case supporting the men's claims that they were innocent. It included his claim to have met some of those who were actually responsible for the bombings.
His interviewer will be Sarah Kavanagh, Head of Media and Communications at the Bar Council since 2021. Previously, she was Senior Campaigns and Communications Officer at the National Union of Journalists (NUJ). She has been the force behind the campaign to support Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney, the two NI journalists who were arrested by the PSNI under the OSA over their documentary No Stone Unturned, which investigates the collusion over the Loughinisland massacre.
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