0:00:00 > 0:00:09Here's Who Bombed Birmingham?
0:00:09 > 0:00:12Irish Republicans stage an act of defiance.
0:00:12 > 0:00:17This display was at the funeral of IRA man Michael Gaughan.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20These pictures give a rare glimpse into the secret world
0:00:20 > 0:00:22of the IRA in England.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25One of these men was an active member of one of the IRA's
0:00:25 > 0:00:28most notorious units.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32This man has told us he was part of the IRA group that planned
0:00:32 > 0:00:34and blew up two pubs in Birmingham in 1974,
0:00:34 > 0:00:37killing 21 people - then the worst act of mass murder
0:00:37 > 0:00:40carried out on British soil.
0:00:40 > 0:00:47This is the same man 43 years later, walking through Dublin.
0:00:47 > 0:00:55His name is Michael Christopher Anthony Hayes.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58The IRA campaign may be over, but Mick Hayes clings to the uniform
0:00:58 > 0:01:05of his paramilitary past.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08He's been accused of being one of those who planted the Birmingham
0:01:08 > 0:01:10pub bombs but has never faced charges.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13He says he was an active volunteer in the city the night
0:01:14 > 0:01:14the bombs exploded.
0:01:14 > 0:01:19Tonight, he breaks his silence about his IRA past.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24I take absolute, total collective responsibility -
0:01:24 > 0:01:28and, yes, I feel justified in being part of any part of the IRA
0:01:28 > 0:01:30that operated in England.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33There was no intention of the IRA to kill innocent people.
0:01:33 > 0:01:34That wasn't meant.
0:01:34 > 0:01:35That wasn't done.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40It wouldn't have been done, if that was the case.
0:01:40 > 0:01:41Did you plant a bomb...
0:01:41 > 0:01:42I'm...
0:01:42 > 0:01:44..in the Tavern in the Town...
0:01:44 > 0:01:46I'm not telling you, no.
0:01:46 > 0:01:47..or the Mulberry Bush?
0:01:47 > 0:01:48I'm not telling you.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50My role? I was an active volunteer.
0:01:50 > 0:01:51Strike England.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53To bring the focus of the war...
0:01:53 > 0:01:57to the attention of the English people.
0:02:04 > 0:02:12In reality, bringing it to the attention of the English
0:02:12 > 0:02:15people meant unleashing a vicious wave of attacks in the West Midlands
0:02:15 > 0:02:16in the early '70s.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18In a sustained campaign over 18 months, 50 bombs
0:02:18 > 0:02:21and incendiary devices exploded.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24On the 21st of November, as thousands of people were enjoying
0:02:24 > 0:02:27a night out in Birmingham, the IRA attacked the city centre.
0:02:28 > 0:02:33A bomb exploded in the Mulberry Bush bar at about 8:15.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35Ten people were killed.
0:02:35 > 0:02:40ARCHIVE: The force of one of the explosions was so great it
0:02:40 > 0:02:44badly damaged a bus passing the street.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48Minutes later, a second bomb exploded - this time at the Tavern
0:02:48 > 0:02:49in the Town.
0:02:49 > 0:02:5411 people died in the blast.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59Altogether, around 200 people were injured.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02Warnings were given, but they were too vague
0:03:02 > 0:03:03and too late.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06It wasn't until next morning, with more than 50 dying
0:03:06 > 0:03:08and mutilated victims still in Birmingham's hospitals,
0:03:08 > 0:03:12that people realised the full scale of the disaster.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15Although it's more than 40 years since the bombs exploded,
0:03:15 > 0:03:19the people of Birmingham have never forgotten what happens.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21The original inquest didn't conclude, and it's scheduled
0:03:21 > 0:03:24to reopen again this autumn - and the relatives are hoping it
0:03:24 > 0:03:29will provide them with answers to their many questions.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33The inquest is being reopened following a campaign by the victims'
0:03:33 > 0:03:36families, who feel that they've been denied justice and that their loved
0:03:37 > 0:03:46ones have been forgotten.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48Julie Hambleton's sister Maxine was 18 when she died
0:03:48 > 0:03:51in the explosion in the Tavern in the Town.
0:03:51 > 0:04:01She'd gone there to invite her friends to her house-warming party.
0:04:01 > 0:04:06My brother IDed Maxine...
0:04:06 > 0:04:07My mother IDed Maxine...
0:04:07 > 0:04:08and...
0:04:08 > 0:04:11..the thought of knowing that our mum has that memory,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14her last memory of her daughter, of her burned remains, haunts me.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16She said that her hair...
0:04:16 > 0:04:23..was melted in her face...
0:04:23 > 0:04:31..and it was very difficult to...
0:04:31 > 0:04:33..recognise her - and we've since found out,
0:04:33 > 0:04:36because we had the postmortem reports, what her other
0:04:36 > 0:04:38injuries were, and...
0:04:38 > 0:04:43..that's so hard.
0:04:43 > 0:04:44That is so hard.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48And Maxine did nothing to no-one.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52She was a really, really good sister.
0:04:52 > 0:04:59She'd do anything for us.
0:04:59 > 0:05:00And we love her.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03We love her today as we did...
0:05:03 > 0:05:07..the day we lost her.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11Even at this late stage, the relatives had hoped
0:05:11 > 0:05:15the reopening of the inquests would be an opportunity for them
0:05:15 > 0:05:18to find out who was responsible for the act of mass murder.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Why is it so important for the perpetrators to be named?
0:05:21 > 0:05:25If we allow people to come to any one of our cities and kill
0:05:25 > 0:05:30with impunity, and never be brought to justice,
0:05:30 > 0:05:35what sort of society are we leaving for future generations?
0:05:35 > 0:05:40So, the perpetrator issue is seismic for us -
0:05:40 > 0:05:43and it should be for everybody.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46In the aftermath of the explosions, grief soon turned to anger,
0:05:46 > 0:05:50and there were anti-Irish protests on the streets.
0:05:50 > 0:05:57ALL CHANT AND SING.
0:05:57 > 0:05:58Six Irishmen living in Birmingham were quickly
0:05:59 > 0:06:01charged and wrongfully convicted.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Known as the Birmingham Six, some of them were coerced
0:06:04 > 0:06:10into signing confessions after being mistreated in custody.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13In 1991, their convictions were finally quashed by the Court
0:06:13 > 0:06:16of Appeal - but only after they'd spent 16 years in jail for something
0:06:16 > 0:06:19they didn't do.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21Justice?!
0:06:21 > 0:06:24I don't think them people in there have got the intelligence
0:06:24 > 0:06:27nor the honesty to spell the word, never mind dispense it!
0:06:27 > 0:06:30They're rotten!
0:06:30 > 0:06:33So, if the Birmingham Six didn't carry out the explosions,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36then just who did?
0:06:36 > 0:06:40Five IRA men, all active in the West Midlands in 1974,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43have been linked to the bomb attacks in Birmingham.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47For years, one of the key suspect has been this man,
0:06:47 > 0:06:49Michael Hayes.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52In the summer of 1974, he was living in the Acocks Green
0:06:52 > 0:06:55area of south Birmingham.
0:06:55 > 0:07:01A self-confessed veteran IRA man, today he lives in Dublin.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04We went in search of him to ask him what role he played
0:07:04 > 0:07:09in the Birmingham pub bombs.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12We met a number of times.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14He said he'd need to clearance from senior Republicans
0:07:15 > 0:07:18to speak to me...
0:07:18 > 0:07:20..and then he finally agreed to talk openly,
0:07:20 > 0:07:25in detail, about the Birmingham pub bombings.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29Well, I'll put it like this.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33Throughout the period of the campaign in the West Midlands,
0:07:33 > 0:07:35I was active throughout the campaign.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39I was active throughout the whole campaign in the West Midlands.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41Yes.
0:07:41 > 0:07:47So, what was your role in the Birmingham pub bombings?
0:07:47 > 0:07:51I just told you, I was a participant in the IRA's activities in
0:07:51 > 0:07:51Birmingham.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53How clear can I make it?
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Tell me about the bomb in the Mulberry Bush.
0:07:56 > 0:07:57What type of bomb was it?
0:07:57 > 0:08:01What type of bomb? In what way, what type of bomb?
0:08:01 > 0:08:02It was a gelignite bomb.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05Made of gelignite.
0:08:05 > 0:08:14What size was it?
0:08:14 > 0:08:16You're asking what the forensic details was?
0:08:16 > 0:08:19I would suggest it would have been about 12 pounds.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22And where was it placed in the bar? As I understand...
0:08:22 > 0:08:25As I understand, it was placed under a table.
0:08:25 > 0:08:30Repeating what I've heard. That's what I'm saying to you.
0:08:30 > 0:08:37It's up to your viewers and yourself...
0:08:38 > 0:08:39to interpret what I'm saying.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41That's the only answer I can give you.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Tell me about the bomb in the Tavern in the Town.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46The same. What can you tell me?
0:08:46 > 0:08:47The same thing.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50A repeat of the first one. As I heard.
0:08:50 > 0:08:51A repeat of the first one.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54Michael Hayes says his IRA career lasted more than 30 years,
0:08:54 > 0:08:57broken only by a three-year prison sentence spent in the Irish
0:08:57 > 0:09:01Republic.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04IRA sources in Belfast describe him as "an operator".
0:09:04 > 0:09:10Another former associate said he was "dangerous and ruthless".
0:09:10 > 0:09:13When he arrived in England in the early '70s, he was already
0:09:13 > 0:09:16an experienced IRA man.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18The first bomb went off at 8:17.
0:09:18 > 0:09:29Ten minutes later, at 8:27, the second bomb exploded.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32Then, at 9:15, another undetonated device was discovered at Barclays
0:09:32 > 0:09:32Bank.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35It received a lot less coverage over the years.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39As well as the two bombs that ripped through the Tavern in the Town
0:09:39 > 0:09:41and the Mulberry Bush, the IRA planted a third device
0:09:41 > 0:09:43in Birmingham that night.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45It was left here on the Hagley Road.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48It didn't explode, and reports at the time said only the detonator
0:09:48 > 0:09:51went off - but Michael Hayes tells a different story.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53I was an IRA man in Birmingham, yes.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56On the night that the Birmingham pub bombs were planted?
0:09:56 > 0:09:57Yes.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59Yes, I was there in Birmingham.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02And what was your role in the IRA in Birmingham that night
0:10:02 > 0:10:03that the bombs were planted?
0:10:03 > 0:10:07What was my role? I was a standby volunteer.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10So what did you do that night? Take us through it.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12I waited to see what was going to happen.
0:10:12 > 0:10:17When we found out what had happened...
0:10:17 > 0:10:22..we defused the third bomb on the Hagley Road.
0:10:22 > 0:10:33Who defused it? I did.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35We were horrified when we heard. 'Cause it wasn't intended.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37I defused the bomb.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41You personally? Yes, me personally.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Yes.
0:10:44 > 0:10:51This is a picture of the third bomb.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53While it would have undoubtedly provided important forensic evidence
0:10:53 > 0:10:56on the real bombers, it no longer can.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58Several years ago, the West Midlands Police confirmed
0:10:58 > 0:10:59that they'd lost it.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02You say that you defused the third bomb in Birmingham that night.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04Yeah.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06How were you able to do that?
0:11:06 > 0:11:08What expertise or knowledge did you have that allowed
0:11:08 > 0:11:11you to defuse a bomb?
0:11:11 > 0:11:16Quite a lot. Quite a lot.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19I specialised in explosives.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23Mm...I knew what I was doing.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28Explain what it means to say you were into explosives.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31To construct a bomb.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33To make a bomb. To make a bomb.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36That's what I were into.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Clock timers - them days, we used clock timers.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41Highly unstable.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45That's the way it was done in them days.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48Clock timers.
0:11:48 > 0:11:53Batteries, clock timer, one detonator.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55Commercial detonator.
0:11:55 > 0:12:00Not electrical detonator, commercial.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03And is that what the Birmingham bombs consisted of?
0:12:03 > 0:12:07Yes, as I understand. Yes.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10You see, that makes it sound like you did make the bombs.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12I have no comment to make on that.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15And you mustn't...think whatever you're thinking.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17So you're saying that... You see....
0:12:17 > 0:12:19You're being asked... I wasn't the...
0:12:19 > 0:12:20You're being asked a simple question.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23Did you make bombs that night?
0:12:23 > 0:12:27I wasn't the only IRA man in the West Midlands.
0:12:27 > 0:12:41There were other men there with me.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44If people choose to believe that we've done this and done that,
0:12:44 > 0:12:47that's what they want to believe, let them believe it.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49VOICEOVER: Paddy Hill is one of the Birmingham Six.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51Today, he lives in the Scottish countryside.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54He says his life was destroyed by this miscarriage of justice.
0:12:54 > 0:12:55It's ruined my life.
0:12:55 > 0:12:56What do you call it...?
0:12:56 > 0:12:58I don't know how to put it.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00But nothing means nothing.
0:13:00 > 0:13:01You know? Nothing means nothing.
0:13:01 > 0:13:06I'm more at home with animals than I am with people.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08You big daftie!
0:13:08 > 0:13:13Good girl. Good girl.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16Paddy Hill, too, wants the bombers named and hopes the inquest
0:13:16 > 0:13:17will go even further.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20I hope that they will show the truth, because the truth has
0:13:20 > 0:13:24never been...been told.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27I want them to show who made the bombs, who planted the bombs,
0:13:27 > 0:13:30and I also want them to show what happened to us,
0:13:30 > 0:13:35and what I want is for the truth to come out.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37I have a different agenda than the families.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40The families want to know who was responsible.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43And of course, me, I want to know who was responsible for giving
0:13:43 > 0:13:46the orders for us to be tortured and framed.
0:13:46 > 0:14:00Silver?
0:14:00 > 0:14:04Why didn't you walk into a police station and say "I know who did
0:14:04 > 0:14:06this," in order to get the Birmingham Six released?
0:14:06 > 0:14:08Now that is about a...
0:14:08 > 0:14:11You'd want me to go in and give the names of other men?
0:14:11 > 0:14:12To become an informer?
0:14:12 > 0:14:16Let me tell you, my good man, I'd sooner die than become an informer.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19I would sooner die in front of you than become an informer.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23Why didn't you go in and admit your own role in whatever you did
0:14:23 > 0:14:27or were involved in in order to try and give an opportunity for the six
0:14:27 > 0:14:31men to be released?
0:14:31 > 0:14:32And what purpose would that serve?
0:14:32 > 0:14:35You think that would have helped the Birmingham Six?
0:14:35 > 0:14:37Then you would have had the Birmingham Seven.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41I would have been one of them.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43VOICEOVER: Chris Mullin is the former MP for Sunderland South
0:14:43 > 0:14:46and he was instrumental in the campaign to free
0:14:46 > 0:14:51the Birmingham Six.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53He's sceptical that the reopened inquests will meet the expectations
0:14:54 > 0:14:54of the relatives.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57Several of the perpetrators of the bombings are dead,
0:14:57 > 0:15:01and of those that are still alive, I'm not aware of any evidence that
0:15:01 > 0:15:04would enable them to be brought before a court of law.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Perhaps if one of them was to own up and put his thumbprint
0:15:07 > 0:15:09on a statement, admitting responsibility, that,
0:15:09 > 0:15:32of course, would change the whole dynamic.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34Mick Hayes says he was arrested and questioned
0:15:34 > 0:15:37by the West Midlands Police in 1974 about the bombings,
0:15:37 > 0:15:38but was let go.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40In 1990, Granada Television made a drama-documentary called
0:15:40 > 0:15:52Who Bombed Birmingham?
0:15:52 > 0:15:55In it, Michael Hayes was named as one of those who planted
0:15:55 > 0:15:56the Birmingham pub bombs.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58In 1990, Granada Television made a drama-documentary
0:15:58 > 0:16:00about the Birmingham pub bombings.
0:16:00 > 0:16:00Yes.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02And they named you as one of the bombers.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04Yes. Yes, they named me that, yeah.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06I was named as such.
0:16:06 > 0:16:17Not proven, but named.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19How many people planted the bombs?
0:16:19 > 0:16:20Two. Two.
0:16:20 > 0:16:21And who were they?
0:16:21 > 0:16:24I'm not telling you. Were you one of them?
0:16:24 > 0:16:25I'm not telling you.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28I mean, you were named in 1990 as being one of...
0:16:28 > 0:16:31I know I was named, yes, I know I was named, yes.
0:16:31 > 0:16:32I know I was named.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36Did you plant a bomb in the Tavern in the Town and the Mulberry Bush?
0:16:36 > 0:16:38I'm not telling you, no.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40I'm not telling you. I'm not telling you.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43So what was your role in the Birmingham bombings?
0:16:43 > 0:16:46As I just told you, I was a participant in the IRA's
0:16:46 > 0:16:52activities in Birmingham.
0:16:52 > 0:16:53I was an active volunteer.
0:16:53 > 0:16:54An active volunteer.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Did you plant the Birmingham pub bomb that killed 21 people
0:16:57 > 0:16:58in November 1974?
0:16:58 > 0:16:59Again, no comment.
0:16:59 > 0:17:00Why won't you answer the question?
0:17:00 > 0:17:07No comment. No comment.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10I've been accused...I've been accused of a lot of things,
0:17:10 > 0:17:12without one shred...one shred of forensic evidence,
0:17:12 > 0:17:14without one statement made, without one witness
0:17:14 > 0:17:15coming against me.
0:17:15 > 0:17:25Not one.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30But did you plant the bombs?
0:17:30 > 0:17:33I was a participant in the IRA's campaign in England.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35You are not answering the question.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37Did you plant the bombs?
0:17:37 > 0:17:40I'm giving you the only answer I can give you.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42The only one that I can give you.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45I will leave it to your viewers, your editorial staff,
0:17:45 > 0:17:47whoever they are, to work out what I'm saying.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Again, I take full collective responsibility for all operations
0:17:50 > 0:17:51carried out in the West Midlands.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54I take collective responsibility for every IRA operation carried out
0:17:54 > 0:17:58in England, let alone Birmingham.
0:17:58 > 0:18:10So you are taking responsibility for the Birmingham pub bombs?
0:18:10 > 0:18:12I will accept responsibility for them.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14As collective responsibility, that's what I will accept.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16That's what I will take.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19Michael Hayes was not operating alone as part of the Birmingham IRA
0:18:19 > 0:18:21on the night of the bombings.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23One of his associates with this man, Mick Murray.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26He was in the dock along with the Birmingham six but faced
0:18:26 > 0:18:35lesser charges and got a nine-year sentence for bomb-related offences.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39What was Mick Murray's role the night of the Birmingham pub
0:18:39 > 0:18:39bombs?
0:18:39 > 0:18:40He phoned the warning.
0:18:40 > 0:18:41As I understand.
0:18:41 > 0:18:42He phoned the warning.
0:18:42 > 0:18:48He phoned the warning.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50And, obviously, he was too late with his warning.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54There was a valuable eight minutes lost if my memory serves me correct.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56Mick Murray was also named in the Granada TV documentary
0:18:56 > 0:19:01and died in 1999.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03The programme also identified Seamus McLoughlin -
0:19:03 > 0:19:06known as Belfast Jimmy, a native of Ardoyne -
0:19:06 > 0:19:09as the man in charge of the Birmingham IRA at the time
0:19:09 > 0:19:12of the attacks.
0:19:12 > 0:19:17He had a paramilitary-style funeral three years ago.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20The fourth man was Jimmy Gavin, he's buried in the IRA's,
0:19:20 > 0:19:22Republican plot in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24On returning to Ireland after the Birmingham bombings,
0:19:24 > 0:19:27Jimmy Gavin served a life sentence after he murdered a man
0:19:27 > 0:19:32in Dublin in 1977.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36James Francis Gavin was a prominent member of the IRA in Birmingham...
0:19:36 > 0:19:39..so far as I'm aware, though he never told me this
0:19:39 > 0:19:47and he too is dead.
0:19:47 > 0:19:48The bombs were collected from his house.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52Whether he was one of the planters or not, I don't know.
0:19:52 > 0:19:52He made bombs.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56He made up bombs.
0:19:56 > 0:20:03He was a volunteer - an explosives volunteer.
0:20:04 > 0:20:05He was a bomb maker?
0:20:05 > 0:20:05Yeah.
0:20:05 > 0:20:10Did he make the Birmingham pub bombs?
0:20:10 > 0:20:12I've no comment to make.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16So you and Jimmy Gavin, as he was known, worked together
0:20:16 > 0:20:19as two IRA bomb makers in Birmingham in the early '70s.
0:20:19 > 0:20:20We were both into explosives, yes.
0:20:20 > 0:20:21High explosives.
0:20:21 > 0:20:30We were both explosives men, yeah.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32The final suspect has never been publicly identified.
0:20:32 > 0:20:39While the name of the fifth member of the gang has been kept secret
0:20:39 > 0:20:42for 43 years, the impact of what the IRA did that night,
0:20:42 > 0:20:44is felt to this very day.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46The relatives of the victims have always wanted the names
0:20:46 > 0:20:50of the suspects to be disclosed at the inquest.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53But just last week, the coroner ruled their identities won't be
0:20:53 > 0:20:57discussed, a blow to the families - who have called his decision
0:20:57 > 0:20:58a whitewash.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00I lost my father in the Birmingham pub bombs.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03For me, I want to know who done it.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06There was a lot of speculation about who may and who may not have
0:21:06 > 0:21:16done it and I go through my daily life, I'm a Brummie,
0:21:16 > 0:21:19I still spend a lot of time in Birmingham and I never quite know
0:21:19 > 0:21:23who I'm standing next to and I may well be standing next to the person
0:21:23 > 0:21:33that killed my father.
0:21:33 > 0:21:34You were ashamed?
0:21:34 > 0:21:34Yes.
0:21:34 > 0:21:35I'm deeply ashamed.
0:21:35 > 0:21:36Not ashamed of the IRA's role...
0:21:36 > 0:21:39..but ashamed of the fact that such things had to happen.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42The IRA has never formally claimed responsibility or apologised
0:21:42 > 0:21:45directly to the families for the 1974 pub bombings in Birmingham.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47But Mick Hayes says he is sorry.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49My message is as it has always been.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52My apologies and my heartfelt sympathy to all of you for
0:21:52 > 0:21:54a terrible, tragic loss that you've been put through.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57And for all these years you've been trying to find closure,
0:21:57 > 0:22:06I hope at last God will be merciful and bring you closure.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09And I apologise not only for myself, I apologise for all Republicans
0:22:09 > 0:22:24who had no intention of hurting anybody and sympathise with you.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26Would an apology mean anything if someone was to say,
0:22:26 > 0:22:30look, I am sorry, it was a mistake, we didn't mean it.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33No!
0:22:33 > 0:22:37No, no, no, no.
0:22:37 > 0:22:38No.
0:22:38 > 0:22:39No, it would be insulting.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42You've murdered 21 people and all you've got is "sorry"?
0:22:42 > 0:22:44What about, "I did it, I'm handing myself in."
0:22:44 > 0:22:45That might help.
0:22:45 > 0:22:46An apology?
0:22:46 > 0:22:52Please, don't insult us.
0:22:52 > 0:22:53Do you have a clear conscience?
0:22:53 > 0:22:55Very much so, yes.
0:22:55 > 0:22:56I can sleep at night-time.
0:22:56 > 0:22:57Yes, I do.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00Because I'm not a murderer.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04I'd like them to grow some balls and come forward and say,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07"I did it and I'm prepared to serve the time "for the heinous crime
0:23:07 > 0:23:08I've committed."
0:23:08 > 0:23:14No more, no less.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17But why don't you just come clean on your role
0:23:17 > 0:23:18in the Birmingham pub bombings?
0:23:18 > 0:23:20I gave you an answer.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22I didn't tell you an untruth.
0:23:22 > 0:23:30I gave you an answer.
0:23:30 > 0:23:31Why don't you answer the question?
0:23:31 > 0:23:34It's the only way I can answer you.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36That's the only way I can answer you.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38You can think what you wish.
0:23:39 > 0:23:44As the viewers will think, as the people who read
0:23:44 > 0:23:45this will think.
0:23:45 > 0:23:46You must think as you wish.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50The coroner has ruled he won't allow the names of the suspects to be
0:23:50 > 0:23:51discussed at the forthcoming inquests.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54The relatives say that they are well used to setbacks
0:23:54 > 0:23:55in their quest for justice.
0:23:56 > 0:23:57Unless the coroner's decision is overturned,
0:23:57 > 0:24:00what you've just heard could be the fullest account anyone will hear
0:24:00 > 0:24:03about one of the largest unsolved mass murders ever carried out
0:24:03 > 0:24:10on British soil.