LONDON – A 65-year-old man has been released after he was arrested in connection with one of Britain's worst terror attacks, the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings that killed 21, police said.
The pensioner was detained in Belfast on Wednesday in what relatives of victims of the attacks called a "positive step" as they push for a full public inquiry into what happened.
West Midlands Police said late yesterday the man, who was held under the Terrorism Act, was interviewed in Belfast and his home was searched before being released.
Detective Chief Superintendent Kenny Bell, from the West Midlands Counter Terrorism policing unit, said officers remained committed to finding the perpetrators.
"Let me assure families of the victims and the people of Birmingham that we're working relentlessly to find the bombers and bring them to justice," he added.
Six men were convicted of the attacks carried out on two pubs in central Birmingham on November 21, 1974, which were blamed on the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
But their convictions were overturned in 1991 and they were released in what was one of Britain's gravest miscarriages of justice.
The IRA, which fought against British rule in Northern Ireland, has never claimed responsibility.
A coroner's inquest into the deaths, which was halted at the time because of the criminal case, resumed last year and concluded the IRA was behind the bombings.
One anonymous member of the paramilitary group gave evidence to say he had been involved and named others behind the attack, which also injured more than 180.
Families want a further investigation as the inquest ruled there were no police failings in the case. Two warning calls were said to have gone unheeded. – AFP, November 20, 2020
