Express & Star

Birmingham pub bombings families raise £11k in fight to name blast suspects

The families of those killed in the Birmingham pub bombings have raised more than £11,000 in a bid to get the suspects behind the 1974 blasts named.

Published
Julie Hambleton (centre), who leads the Justice4the21 campaign and whose sister Maxine died in the Birmingham pub bombings, with other bereaved families outside the city's civil justice centre.

They smashed through the initial £10,000 target this week and are now looking to raise £50,000 through online 'crowdfunding'.

The move comes after Coroner Sir Peter Thornton QC ruled that details over who was responsible for the bombings should be excluded from the resumed inquests.

They money raised will help the families to start a judicial review of the Coroner's decision at the High Court.

Julie Hambleton, who leads the campaign group Justice4the21 and whose sister Maxine was killed in the IRA attack, said: "We have been fighting for 42 years to get justice for our loved ones killed in the Birmingham pub bombings in 1974.

"We need answers as to who was responsible, yet this very issue has been excluded from the scope of the inquest. Today, we have for the first time launched a crowdfunding campaign to help us raise the funds we need to apply to the court for permission to bring a judicial review of the Coroner's ruling on the scope of the inquest".

Justice4the21's fundraising campaign is being managed by CrowdJustice.

You can donate at www.crowdjustice.com/case/justice4the21/