To the attention of the english people meant unleashing a vicious wave of attacks in the West Midlands in the early 70s. In a sustained campaign over 18 months, 50 bombs and incendiary devices exploded. On the 21st of november, as thousands of people were enjoying a night out in birmingham, the ira attacked the city centre. A bomb exploded in the Mulberry Bush bar at about 8 15. Ten people were killed. Archive the force of one of the explosions was so great it badly damaged a bus passing the street. Minutes later, a second bomb exploded this time at the tavern in the town. 11 people died in the blast. Altogether, around 200 people were injured. Warnings were given, but they were too vague and too late. It wasnt until next morning, with more than 50 dying and mutilated victims still in birminghams hospitals, that people realised the full scale of the disaster. Although its more than a0 years since the bombs exploded, the people of birmingham have never forgotten what happens. The original inquest didnt conclude, and its scheduled to reopen again this autumn and the relatives are hoping it will provide them with answers to their many questions. The inquest is being reopened following a campaign by the victims families, who feel that theyve been denied justice and that their loved ones have been forgotten. Julie hambletons Sister Maxine was 18 when she died in the explosion in the tavern in the town. Shed gone there to invite her friends to her house warming party. My mother ided maxine. And. The thought of knowing that our mum has that memory, her last memory of her daughter, of her burned remains, haunts me. She said that her hair. Was melted in her face. And it was very difficult to. Recognise her and weve since found out, because we had the postmortem reports, what her other injuries were, and. Thats so hard. That is so hard. And maxine did nothing to no one. She was a really, really good sister. Shed do anything for us. And we love her. We love her today as we did. The day we lost her. Even at this late stage, the relatives had hoped the reopening of the inquests would be an opportunity for them to find out who was responsible for the act of mass murder. Why is it so important for the perpetrators to be named . If we allow people to come to any one of our cities and kill with impunity, and never be brought to justice, what sort of society are we leaving for future generations . So, the Perpetrator Issue is seismic for us and it should be for everybody. In the aftermath of the explosions, grief soon turned to anger, and there were anti irish protests on the streets. All chant and sing six Irishmen Living In Birmingham were quickly charged and wrongfully convicted. Known as the Birmingham Six, some of them were coerced into signing confessions after being mistreated in custody. In 1991, their convictions were finally quashed by the Court Of Appeal but only after theyd spent 16 years in jail for something they didnt do. Justice . i dont think them people in there have got the intelligence nor the honesty to spell the word, never mind dispense it theyre rotten so, if the Birmingham Six didnt carry out the explosions, then just who did . Five ira men, all active in the West Midlands in 1974, have been linked to the bomb attacks in birmingham. For years, one of the key suspect has been this man, Michael Hayes. In the summer of 1974, he was living in the acocks green area of south birmingham. A self confessed veteran ira man, today he lives in dublin. We went in search of him to ask him what role he played in the birmingham pub bombs. We met a number of times. He said hed need to clearance from Senior Republicans to speak to me. And then he finally agreed to talk openly, in detail, about the Birmingham Pub Bombings. Well, ill put it like this. Throughout the period of the campaign in the West Midlands, i was active throughout the campaign. I was active throughout the whole campaign in the West Midlands. Yes. So, what was your role in the Birmingham Pub Bombings . Ijust told you, i was a participant in the iras activities in birmingham. How clear can i make it . Tell me about the bomb in the Mulberry Bush. What type of bomb was it . What type of bomb . In what way, what type of bomb . It was a gelignite bomb. Made of gelignite. What size was it . Youre asking what the forensic details was . I would suggest it would have been about 12 pounds. And where was it placed in the bar . As i understand. As i understand, it was placed under a table. Repeating what ive heard. Thats what im saying to you. Its up to your viewers and yourself. To interpret what im saying. Thats the only answer i can give you. Tell me about the bomb in the tavern in the town. The same. What can you tell me . The same thing. A repeat of the first one. As i heard. A repeat of the first one. Michael hayes says his ira career lasted more than 30 years, broken only by a three Year Prison Sentence spent in the irish republic. Ira sources in belfast describe him as an operator. Another former associate said he was dangerous and ruthless. When he arrived in england in the early 70s, he was already an experienced ira man. The first bomb went off at 8 17. Ten minutes later, at 8 27, the second bomb exploded. Then, at 9 15, another Undetonated Device was discovered at barclays bank. It received a lot less coverage over the years. As well as the two bombs that ripped through the tavern in the town and the Mulberry Bush, the ira planted a third device in birmingham that night. It was left here on the hagley road. It didnt explode, and reports at the time said only the detonator went off but Michael Hayes tells a different story. I was an ira man in birmingham, yes. On the night that the birmingham pub bombs were planted . Yes. Yes, i was there in birmingham. And what was your role in the ira in birmingham that night that the bombs were planted . What was my role . I was a standby volunteer. So what did you do that night . Take us through it. I waited to see what was going to happen. When we found out what had happened. We defused the third bomb on the hagley road. Who defused it . Idid. We were horrified when we heard. Cos it wasnt intended. I defused the bomb. You personally . Yes, me personally. Yes. This is a picture of the third bomb. While it would have undoubtedly provided important forensic evidence on the real bombers, it no longer can. Several years ago, the West MidlandsPolice Confirmed that theyd lost it. You say that you defused the third bomb in birmingham that night. Yeah. How were you able to do that . What expertise or knowledge did you have that allowed you to defuse a bomb . Quite a lot. I specialised in explosives. Mm. I knew what i was doing. Explain what it means to say you were into explosives. To construct a bomb. To make a bomb. Thats what i were into. Clock timers them days, we used clock timers. Highly unstable. Thats the way it was done in them days. Clock timers. Batteries, clock timer, one detonator. Commercial detonator. Not electrical detonator, commercial. And is that what the birmingham bombs consisted of . Yes, as i understand. Yes. You see, that makes it sound like you did make the bombs. I have no comment to make on that. And you mustnt. Think whatever youre thinking. So youre saying that. You see. Youre being asked. I wasnt the. Youre being asked a simple question. Did you make bombs that night . I wasnt the only ira man in the West Midlands. There were other men there with me. If People Choose to believe that weve done this and done that, thats what they want to believe, let them believe it. Voiceover paddy hill is one of the Birmingham Six. Today, he lives in the scottish countryside. He says his life was destroyed by this miscarriage ofjustice. Its ruined my life. What do you call it. . I dont know how to put it. But nothing means nothing. You know . Nothing means nothing. Im more at home with animals than i am with people. You big daftie good girl. Paddy hill, too, wants the bombers named and hopes the inquest will go even further. I hope that they will show the truth, because the truth has never been. Been told. I want them to show who made the bombs, who planted the bombs, and i also want them to show what happened to us, and what i want is for the truth to come out. I have a different agenda than the families. The families want to know who was responsible. And of course, me, i want to know who was responsible for giving the orders for us to be tortured and framed. Silver . He clicks his tongue elvis . Elvis . Come on. I want them to deliver to us the people who selected us to be the scapegoats. So did the ira feel any responsibility for the fact that six innocent men were wrongly convicted of mass murder . We didnt put the Birmingham Six into prison. No, but you put the bombs in the pubs. The bombs were part of a campaign that went on. The Birmingham Six had nothing to do with the ira. It wasnt the ira that sentenced them. The british knew that they were innocent. The. The people were baying for blood. The West Midlands police, not being able to catch the proper ira men, went out and took six innocent men. Same thing as the guildford four. Done the same thing. Why didnt you walk into a Police Station and say i know who did this, in order to get the Birmingham Six released . Now that is about a. Youd want me to go in and give the names of other men . To become an informer . Let me tell you, my good man, id sooner die than become an informer. I would sooner die in front of you than become an informer. Why didnt you go in and admit your own role in whatever you did or were involved in in order to try and give an opportunity for the six men to be released . And what purpose would that serve . You think that would have helped the Birmingham Six . Then you would have had the birmingham seven. I would have been one of them. Voiceover chris mullin is the former mp for Sunderland South and he was instrumental in the campaign to free the Birmingham Six. Hes sceptical that the reopened inquests will meet the expectations of the relatives. Several of the perpetrators of the bombings are dead, and of those that are still alive, im not aware of any evidence that would enable them to be brought before a court of law. Perhaps if one of them was to own up and put his thumbprint on a statement, admitting responsibility, that, of course, would change the whole dynamic. Voiceover while investigating the real bombers in 1987, chris mullin had a meeting with a man in dublin who he believed was one of those involved. He has never revealed that mans name, referring to him only as mr z, but Michael Hayes confirmed to me that he had a meeting with chris mullin in dublin around that time. Chris mullin interviewed me years ago. The mp. He mentioned that in his book. What did you tell chris mullin when he interviewed you . Exactly what im telling you. You see, for someone who wont answer the questions, you seem to have an awful lot of knowledge about the Birmingham Pub Bombings. A lot of people have read about the Birmingham Pub Bombings, have an awful lot of knowledge through reading, you know . But youre giving the impression that your knowledge is much greater than what somebody has read in a book. My knowledge is only greater due to the fact that i was a member of the ira. I had a more intimate knowledge of things that went on around me than the ordinary man in the street. Mick hayes says he was arrested and questioned by the West Midlands police in 1974 about the bombings, but was let go. In 1990, Granada TelevisionMade A Drama Documentary called who bombed birmingham . In it, Michael Hayes was named as one of those who planted the birmingham pub bombs. The programme said. In 1990, Granada TelevisionMade A Drama Documentary about the Birmingham Pub Bombings. Yes. And they named you as one of the bombers. Yes. Yes, they named me that, yeah. I was named as such. Not proven, but named. How many people planted the bombs . Two. And who were they . Im not telling you. Were you one of them . Im not telling you. I mean, you were named in 1990 as being one of. I know i was named, yes, i know i was named, yes. I know i was named. Did you plant a bomb in the tavern in the town and the Mulberry Bush . Im not telling you, no. Im not telling you. So what was your role in the birmingham bombings . As ijust told you, i was a participant in the iras activities in birmingham. I was an active volunteer. An active volunteer. Did you plant the birmingham pub bomb that killed 21 people in November 1974 . Again, no comment. Why wont you answer the question . No comment. Ive been accused. Ive been accused of a lot of things, without one shred. One shred of forensic evidence, without one statement made, without one witness coming against me. Not one. But did you plant the bombs . I was a participant in the iras campaign in england. You are not answering the question. Did you plant the bombs . Im giving you the only answer i can give you. The only one that i can give you. I will leave it to your viewers, your editorial staff, whoever they are, to work out what im saying. Again, i take full collective responsibility for all operations carried out in the West Midlands. I take collective responsibility for every Ira Operation carried out in england, let alone birmingham. So you are taking responsibility for the birmingham pub bombs . I will accept responsibility for them. As collective responsibility, thats what i will accept. Thats what i will take. Michael hayes was not operating alone as part of the birmingham ira on the night of the bombings. One of his associates with this man, mick murray. He was in the dock along with the Birmingham Six but faced lesser charges and got a nine year sentence for bomb related offences. What was mick murrays role the night of the birmingham pub bombs . He phoned the warning. As i understand. He phoned the warning. And, obviously, he was too late with his warning. There was a valuable eight minutes lost if my memory serves me correct. Mick murray was also named in the granada Tv Documentary and died in 1999. The programme also identified Seamus Mcloughlin known as belfastjimmy, a native of ardoyne as the man in charge of the birmingham ira at the time of the attacks. He had a paramilitary style funeral three years ago. The fourth man wasjimmy gavin, hes buried in the iras, republican plot in Glasnevin Cemetery in dublin. 0n returning to ireland after the birmingham bombings, jimmy gavin served a Life Sentence after he murdered a man in dublin in1977. James Francis Gavin was a prominent member of the ira in birmingham. So far as im aware, though he never told me this and he too is dead. The bombs were collected from his house. Whether he was one of the planters or not, i dont know. He made bombs. He made up bombs. He was a volunteer an explosives volunteer. He was a bomb maker . Yeah. Did he make the birmingham pub bombs . Ive no comment to make. So you andjimmy gavin, as he was known, worked together as two Ira Bomb Makers in birmingham in the early 70s. We were both into explosives, yes. High explosives. We were both explosives men, yeah. The final suspect has never been publicly identified. While the name of the fifth member of the gang has been kept secret for 43 years, the impact of what the ira did that night, is felt to this very day. The relatives of the victims have always wanted the names of the suspects to be disclosed at the inquest. Butjust last week, the coroner ruled their identities wont be discussed, a blow to the families who have called his decision a whitewash. I lost my father in the birmingham pub bombs. For me, i want to know who done it. There was a lot of speculation about who may and who may not have done it and i go through my daily life, im a brummie, i still spend a lot of time in birmingham and i never quite know who im standing next to and i may well be standing next to the person that killed my father. My dad died young, he was only 17. We just want the truth, basically. Its the truth. The perpetrators, yes, but everything. We want to know everything thats happened because there are so many rumours going around that need to be answered, really, whether theyre true or not. Everything, especially when i was growing up, it was all about the Birmingham Six. Thats all i heard, it werent about my mother and all the other members. So the fact that the authorities convicted the wrong men also denied the victims and their familiesjustice. The truth. That is what is being concealed. They dont want it to come out. I think that the perpetrators are known. The people that did it, planted it, are known. The fact that people were charged and that they served 16 years and then were released has been a drawback to us, in the sense that the Birmingham Pub Bombings, really, after the trial, was put away. There is an inquest scheduled later this year. Yes, so i understand. Would you go along to that inquest . No, i would not go along to it, no. Why . I wouldnt go along to it. Why not . Why should i . What reason would i have to go . Because you have said you have more knowledge about what happened that night than others do. Ive just given this interview. That is sufficient. Im not going back to england. Why did you decide you wanted to talk about this . Well, i thought that, um, from a historical Point Of View. It was something that had to be recounted. At least it was a Point Of View of a participant. I cant dictate the attitudes of people that will probably read the story of this or probably see it on tv. Were you ashamed whenever the death toll came through . Absolutely. You were ashamed . Yes. Im deeply ashamed. Not ashamed of the iras role. But ashamed of the fact that such things had to happen. The ira has neverformally claimed responsibility or apologised directly to the families for the 1974 pub bombings in birmingham. But mick hayes says he is sorry. My message is as it has always been. My apologies and my heartfelt sympathy to all of you for a terrible, tragic loss that youve been put through. And for all these years youve been trying to find closure, i hope at last god will be merciful and bring you closure. And i apologise not only for myself, i apologise for all republicans who had no intention of hurting anybody and sympathise with you. Would an apology mean anything if someone was to say, look, i am sorry, it was a mistake, we didnt mean it. No no, no, no, no. No. No, it would be insulting. Youve murdered 21 people and all youve got is sorry . What about, i did it, im handing myself in. That might help. An apology . Please, dont insult us. Do you have a clear conscience . Very much so, yes. I can sleep at night time. Yes, i do. Because im not a murderer. Id like them to grow some balls and come forward and say, i did it and im prepared to serve the time for the heinous crime ive committed. No more, no less. But why dont you just come clean on your role in the Birmingham Pub Bombings . I gave you an answer. I didnt tell you an untruth. I gave you an answer. Why dont you answer the question . Its the only way i can answer you. Thats the only way i can answer you. You can think what you wish. As the viewers will think, as the people who read this will think. You must think as you wish. The coroner has ruled he wont allow the names of the suspects to be discussed at the forthcoming inquests. The relatives say that they are well used to setbacks in their quest forjustice. Unless the coroners decision is overturned, what youve just heard could be the fullest account anyone will hear about one of the largest unsolved mass murders ever carried out on british soil. Hello. 0nce hello. Once again we are almost done with monday, a mixture of thunderstorms and sunny spells. Tuesday not starting particularly cold, but from the start, some areas worked. Certainly in central scotland, northern england, Western Wales and southern counties of england. Most rain will be light, then heavy rain gets into wales, the South West Of England and grab early truths eastwards. Some brightness in the south east could see temperatures at 20 degrees. The best of the dry weather further north. In the late afternoon, evening and overnight, rainfall totals heightening. Very well come across some parts of the south. 0nce heightening. Very well come across some parts of the south. Once that moves away on wednesday, wednesday turns into a glorious day for all areas. Not too much in the way of breeze, and a high of 22 degrees. Im rico hizon in singapore. The headlines Pressure On Beijing to release a chinese dissident dying of cancer. Show humanity says the german government. Translation i can assure you that this tragic case is of great importance to the chancellor and she would hope for a sign of humanity for liu xiaobo and his family. Iraqs Prime Minister declares victory in mosul three years after so called Islamic State took over the city. Im Babita Sharma in london. Also in the programme. From the old silk road to the new a Special Report on the trillion dollar project linking china with europe. With no other Country Offering a big idea right now, this is the most ambitious did to shape our century