Who Murdered Maxine?

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:00:38. > :00:45.It really is incomprehensible to people what it's like to lose

:00:46. > :00:59.Maxine. Maxine Hambleton was 18 when she

:01:00. > :01:03.died. Maxine loved Slade, she was in love

:01:04. > :01:06.with Dave Hall, she had a poster on her bedroom wall.

:01:07. > :01:09.She was full of life, funny. She was as sharp as a knife.

:01:10. > :01:13.She was murdered in Birmingham almost 40 years ago, and her family

:01:14. > :01:15.is still trying to find out who did it.

:01:16. > :01:19.I can just see her walking away. It's hard, it's very very hard. To

:01:20. > :01:24.think I was the last one in my family to see her alive and the way

:01:25. > :01:41.she was... I delivered her to her death.

:01:42. > :01:46.Maxine Hambleton didn't die alone. In 1974, 21 people were killed and

:01:47. > :02:01.almost 200 others were injured in the Birmingham pub bombings. The

:02:02. > :02:04.case remains unsolved. We've been following them since

:02:05. > :02:07.January. Maxine's brother, Brian, and her sister, Julie, are setting

:02:08. > :02:10.out their stall to demand a fresh investigation and Justice for the 21

:02:11. > :02:18.who were killed. Excuse me sir, can I trouble you for

:02:19. > :02:23.a signature? It's hard it's very hard.

:02:24. > :02:26.They're only yards from the two city centre pubs where the bombs went

:02:27. > :02:36.off, and on days like these their small band of supporters really keep

:02:37. > :02:39.them going. They really are an incredible group

:02:40. > :02:44.of people. Without them, without any shadow Of a doubt, we wouldn't be

:02:45. > :02:47.where we are today. The Hambletons want 100,000

:02:48. > :02:51.signatures on their petition to show police and politians that Birmingham

:02:52. > :02:55.is behind them. `` politicians. It doesn't sound like such a big ask in

:02:56. > :02:58.a city of over a million people, but they are still 90,000 short.

:02:59. > :03:06.Is this an old story in danger of getting lost in a modern city? We've

:03:07. > :03:10.found someone who doesn't need a history lesson. She was there.

:03:11. > :03:17.Hello, I'm Maureen, Maureen Mitchell. I was a victim in the

:03:18. > :03:22.bombing. Oh my god! Below, it is really nice

:03:23. > :03:28.to meet you. Were you in the tavern in the town?

:03:29. > :03:31.Yes. Maureen Mitchell was so badly

:03:32. > :03:35.injured in the Mulberry Bush pub priests gave her the last rites.

:03:36. > :03:41.This is the first time she's met Julie.

:03:42. > :03:49.Oh God, you took me by surprise. It's emotional for me because you

:03:50. > :03:52.were there. You weren't in the same pub, but...

:03:53. > :03:55.You have been through it, literally, and my heart goes out to you.

:03:56. > :04:00.Mine does to you. It's different for me because I'm here to tell the

:04:01. > :04:03.tale. But you have real`life memories of

:04:04. > :04:08.horror. Real horror and terror. 21 people

:04:09. > :04:11.died and 182 were injured, but surprisingly few of the families

:04:12. > :04:13.affected by the bombings know each other.

:04:14. > :04:22.But there are reasons for that. I went through a very bad stage of

:04:23. > :04:27.survivor guilt. You do feel guilty that you survived when someone like

:04:28. > :04:30.Julie lost someone so close. The IRA has always been blamed for

:04:31. > :04:33.the bombings, but never publicly admitted it. Maureen tells a

:04:34. > :04:36.different story. We've been to Ireland and been

:04:37. > :04:43.involved in the peace programme and we've met ex`terrorists or whatever

:04:44. > :04:48.they like to call themselves. And we know some of them have said they'd

:04:49. > :04:51.do it again. What he actually said to me was they

:04:52. > :04:57.never targeted civilians. When I said, "What about Birmingham?", he

:04:58. > :05:03.said that was a mistake. How could it be a mistake? They had

:05:04. > :05:06.three bombs, one in one pub, one was in another. The other one didn't go

:05:07. > :05:10.off. His actual words, well his actual

:05:11. > :05:16.phrase to me was, "The difference between us and Al`Qaeda was we've

:05:17. > :05:19.never targeted civillians." it has been a tough conversation to have in

:05:20. > :05:26.the streets, but it sounds like this was a good time to have it.

:05:27. > :05:32.If I can support Julie in anyway I will and we will stay in touch now

:05:33. > :05:36.I'm sure we will. Brian is driving to where he dropped

:05:37. > :05:38.his sister off on the night of the bombings.

:05:39. > :05:44.Memories follow him through a city that has moved on from the '70s.

:05:45. > :05:46.I see it in a different light. I'm kind of stuck in a kind of

:05:47. > :05:50.limbo. Tonight the pubs are full again and

:05:51. > :05:55.fear of the IRA has gone, but 40 years ago Birmingham was a very

:05:56. > :05:57.different place. Irish Republicans were resisting

:05:58. > :06:02.British rule in Northern Ireland. Some turned to terrorism, planting

:06:03. > :06:05.bombs at home and on the mainland. The West Midlands was hit more than

:06:06. > :06:11.30 times in 12 months. Thankfully, there were few casualties, but that

:06:12. > :06:15.was about to change. You could never have guessed what

:06:16. > :06:19.was going to happen in the next 60 minutes.

:06:20. > :06:26.Why would anyone want to kill people like that? Or just kill people? They

:06:27. > :06:29.were in a pub. The Mulberry Bush at the foot of

:06:30. > :06:31.Birmingham's Rotunda, and the Tavern in the Town basement bar, where

:06:32. > :06:40.Maxine was, were blown to pieces. She was one of six children. Julie,

:06:41. > :06:48.the youngest, was only 11 when it happened. She has one small box of

:06:49. > :06:52.memories. There is a picture of Maxine.

:06:53. > :06:59.I think that's a fantastic picture of her because it really captures

:07:00. > :07:04.her. Look at her smile. She made that dress herself, bless her.

:07:05. > :07:10.Alongside the memories, there is also a suggestion of how her sister

:07:11. > :07:16.died. And then I came across this.

:07:17. > :07:29.She used to love her bangles, Maxine. She wore lots and lots of

:07:30. > :07:33.bangles and these were her rings. I'm not sure, but I think this is

:07:34. > :07:35.what she was wearing on the night she was killed, because it's all

:07:36. > :07:56.bent and damaged and it's all burnt. Starting the campaign has exposed

:07:57. > :08:06.them to harrowing details they were never told as children. Julie thinks

:08:07. > :08:11.it's time they were told everything. We don't care how many boxes we have

:08:12. > :08:15.to open. Whatever it takes, we will do it, because somebody has got to

:08:16. > :08:24.fight for these people who aren't here to fight for themselves.

:08:25. > :08:28.News of the campaign is starting to travel, and so must Brian and Julie.

:08:29. > :08:30.They are on their way to meet a high`profile supporter.

:08:31. > :08:38.Hello. He's waiting for them in Belfast,

:08:39. > :08:41.and this will be their first visit to Northern Ireland.

:08:42. > :08:46.It's ironic to think that we're having to go to Northern Ireland to

:08:47. > :08:55.get movement. In itself, that is odd.

:08:56. > :09:01.It is nice to be meeting people at the top, people in power, but we are

:09:02. > :09:06.only doing all this for one reason. As far as I'm concerned, I don't

:09:07. > :09:11.want to be messed about. That will be my first line. If he can help,

:09:12. > :09:16.that will be fantastic, but I'd rather they say so.

:09:17. > :09:18.Out of the rain, there's a warm Ulster welcome from the First

:09:19. > :09:22.Minister, Peter Robinson. Hello, Mr Robinson.

:09:23. > :09:25.I've been reading something of the campaign and ` obviously from a

:09:26. > :09:28.Northern Ireland perspective we look very closely ` there was massive

:09:29. > :09:38.empathy and sympathy at the time of the bombing itself. He's no friend

:09:39. > :09:42.of the IRA. Quite the opposite ` as leader of

:09:43. > :09:44.the Democratic Unionists he wants Northern Ireland to remain British.

:09:45. > :09:53.The Hambletons haven't come to talk politics, they just want his help.

:09:54. > :09:57.I've indicated to the group that if they want to compile a dossier I'll

:09:58. > :10:00.put it into the hands of the Prime Minister. I believe that, if the

:10:01. > :10:02.Prime Minister looks at the arguments they're putting forward,

:10:03. > :10:08.there's every reason why there should be an investigation.

:10:09. > :10:09.They're not going to argue with that.

:10:10. > :10:12.It was very interesting, very enlightening.

:10:13. > :10:26.He listened, he understood, and he has given us some fantastic advice

:10:27. > :10:31.and guidance. And he is going to try and help us

:10:32. > :10:33.to the top of the tree, to the Prime Minister.

:10:34. > :10:37.Belfast has given them a much`needed morale boost.

:10:38. > :10:40.They can only wait to see if Mr Robinson delivers on his promise.

:10:41. > :10:43.But, back in Birmingham, it's back to business. This campaign never

:10:44. > :10:46.stops. It has taken over their lives and their living rooms.

:10:47. > :10:55.It is extremely time`consuming. We literally eat, sleep, drink it.

:10:56. > :11:03.We dream about it. But why have they left it so long?

:11:04. > :11:07.I wasn't strong enough. Grief is a terrible thing, and

:11:08. > :11:09.anyone who has lost a loved one, to murder, will know what we're talking

:11:10. > :11:29.about. Some people never recover. Ladies and gentlemen! 416 and a half

:11:30. > :11:31.years we have been political scapegoats!

:11:32. > :11:36.There is another reason the families kept quiet.

:11:37. > :11:42.The police told us from the start that they knew we had not done it!

:11:43. > :11:46.Six Irish men, jailed for the bombings in 1975, walked free from

:11:47. > :11:49.the Court of Appeal after 16 and a half years in prison. Judges ruled

:11:50. > :11:54.their 21 murder convictions were unsafe and overturned them.

:11:55. > :11:56.I couldn't watch it. As far as we were concerned it was

:11:57. > :12:03.Like Maxine had been murdered again. The 1991 Birmingham Six appeal had

:12:04. > :12:08.demolished the credibility of the police investigation.

:12:09. > :12:10.It was as if all the victims and the survivors were basically made a

:12:11. > :12:26.laughing stock of. Justice! I don't think people in

:12:27. > :12:31.there have the intelligence nor the honesty to spell the word, never

:12:32. > :12:37.mind dispense it! They are rotten! This man is about to take the

:12:38. > :12:41.campaign in an unexpected direction. My name is Patrick Joseph Hill, and

:12:42. > :12:45.I'm one of the men more commonly known as the Birmingham Six.

:12:46. > :12:49.Paddy Hill is the most vocal and recognizable of the Birmingham Six.

:12:50. > :12:57.He has been out of prison for 22 years and bares the scars of his own

:12:58. > :13:00.battle for justice. The sooner we get the truth, then

:13:01. > :13:04.maybe for the living relatives of those who died and for those that

:13:05. > :13:08.were injured and are still alive, maybe then there will be some

:13:09. > :13:12.closure. But none of us will have closure until we do know the truth.

:13:13. > :13:15.He has signed the Hambleton's petition and is a seasoned

:13:16. > :13:20.campaigner, but would they want his help? We're about to find out.

:13:21. > :13:25.It's like we're going to meet the enemy.

:13:26. > :13:31.They hated him for years, and he knows it.

:13:32. > :13:37.I want to see the Hambletons, I'm looking forward to it. But I'm still

:13:38. > :13:41.a bit apprehensive, you know? I know how I'm going to take them ` it's

:13:42. > :13:44.how they're going to take me. From opposite ends of this tragedy,

:13:45. > :13:48.the three of them are about to meet in the middle. They're leaving

:13:49. > :13:54.Birmingham for another town blown apart by terrorists.

:13:55. > :13:58.This is one man of six, who through the years has been vilified and is

:13:59. > :14:07.infamous for the death of our sister and 20 other innocent souls.

:14:08. > :14:16.We cannot go further forward without doing this.

:14:17. > :14:19.I understand how those people feel. They have had years of having

:14:20. > :14:24.someone to focus their anger on, and their anger was focused on us. I

:14:25. > :14:29.have a similar anger, but my anger is focused on the West Midlands

:14:30. > :14:33.Serious Crime Squad. There's many questions I want to ask

:14:34. > :14:43.him. I don't know what order I will ask them in. But...

:14:44. > :14:48.It is judging him as a character. They've come to Warrington. The Tim

:14:49. > :14:51.Parry and Jonathan Ball Peace Centre was built in memory of two young

:14:52. > :14:57.boys who were killed when an IRA bomb exploded in the town 20 years

:14:58. > :15:01.ago. The charity specializes in bringing people affected by

:15:02. > :15:04.terrorism together peacefully. They are experts at handling volatile

:15:05. > :15:06.meetings, and with only a door between Paddy and the Hambletons,

:15:07. > :15:26.things are tense. Do you want to come in and take a

:15:27. > :15:41.seat? Paddy, do you want to stay there a second. Sit down. Hello. I

:15:42. > :15:49.just want to start talking for a few moments if I may. I welcome you to

:15:50. > :15:53.the centre. Yellow mac I'm glad you're here, face to face, to ask

:15:54. > :15:57.you what I'd like to ask you and what we was told by the police, that

:15:58. > :16:00.you was the ringleader of the so`called Birmingham Six and that as

:16:01. > :16:03.far as I was concerned you killed my sister and all the other 20

:16:04. > :16:23.innocent. I understand that, I understand that. You don't have to

:16:24. > :16:27.tell me. I know what they said, and let me tell you something. You may

:16:28. > :16:31.not believe this, but I have never in my life been asked one question

:16:32. > :16:39.by the police about the Birmingham pub bombings. Never? Don't get me

:16:40. > :16:43.wrong ` I am Irish, I am green, I am Republican, I would love to see my

:16:44. > :16:47.country united, but I had nothing to do with the IRA, and you see, when

:16:48. > :16:50.it happened, the cops told us right from the start and the words are

:16:51. > :16:52.burned into my brain. They turned round and told us, we know you

:16:53. > :17:06.didn't do the bombings. We don't give a BLEEP who did the

:17:07. > :17:10.bombings. We've got you and that's good enough for us. Neither side sit

:17:11. > :17:16.comfortably, but after two hours some common ground opens up. Do you

:17:17. > :17:18.have access to the statements or the trial transcripts, or do your

:17:19. > :17:28.solicitors?" i have everything you could think of. Could you make them

:17:29. > :17:31.available to us, please? I already told Anthony last night, you can

:17:32. > :17:41.have everything because we have it all. I have kept everything. I was

:17:42. > :17:46.the one who did all the fighting in jail, I done all the writing but I

:17:47. > :17:51.kept every bit. I have a complete set of everything with my

:17:52. > :17:57.solicitor's in London. They've been asking the police for that sort of

:17:58. > :18:01.access for months. I think I'm quite a good judge of character, and I

:18:02. > :18:04.mean, I could be sitting here still thinking you killed my sister, and

:18:05. > :18:07.what we've learned? And without going over board, has changed my

:18:08. > :18:22.mindset, and that's as far as I'm willing to go. Thank you. A couple

:18:23. > :18:26.of hours has barely scratched the surface of the history between them,

:18:27. > :18:36.but it has exposed the damage done to both sides. The trauma has taught

:18:37. > :18:42.me apart. My mother... My kids ended up in homes and everything. They

:18:43. > :18:47.ended up moving house nine Times in 11 years. They did not even know

:18:48. > :18:51.what name they were using. My family, you know? The meeting has

:18:52. > :18:55.ended hopefully, if not happily. Paddy's offer to help has opened up

:18:56. > :18:58.a new channel for the campaign. If we can have access to his papers

:18:59. > :19:10.through his solicitors, that would turn everything upside down. Does

:19:11. > :19:16.this mean Paddy has won them over? It's the hardest thing I've ever had

:19:17. > :19:20.to do. It's still hard for us. It's in everyone's psyche, isn't it, that

:19:21. > :19:34.he was the ringleader and he did it, so for us to do what we've done is

:19:35. > :19:39.absolutely profound. I feel absolutely numb. I can't believe

:19:40. > :19:42.I've just met and spent time with the man I've always been told and

:19:43. > :19:46.believed has murdered my sister, but if it wasn't for the fact for my own

:19:47. > :19:50.investigation that we've done, which are comparable with what he says to

:19:51. > :19:52.us, I couldn't have sat here for the length I time I have done. Put my

:19:53. > :20:10.question back in. very intense, but I'm glad we had it

:20:11. > :20:12.and hopefully it'll help them understand things better rather than

:20:13. > :20:24.just believing everything that they've been told for nearly 40

:20:25. > :20:29.years. And also one of the things I said in there to them is you have

:20:30. > :20:33.got to get to members of Parliament. We have enough of them in the West

:20:34. > :20:38.Midlands to get up and start asking questions. But the police didn't

:20:39. > :20:44.find any answers after the second investigation in 1994. We have done

:20:45. > :20:48.every possible thing that we can to bring the perpetrators of that crime

:20:49. > :20:52.to justice. And the conclusion that has been reached, and I don't need

:20:53. > :20:55.to read it to you again, is that there is insufficient evidence for

:20:56. > :20:58.proceedings to be taken. If they'd done everything that was humanly

:20:59. > :21:05.possible, then how come the perpetrators are still out there

:21:06. > :21:08.with their liberty? At the very top of this building, West Midlands

:21:09. > :21:11.Police commanders are taking the Hambletons' questions and

:21:12. > :21:15.frustrations seriously. No promises have been made but the door to a

:21:16. > :21:21.fresh investigation has been opened just a little. We've been gathering

:21:22. > :21:24.together all of the material from the investigations that took place

:21:25. > :21:28.in 1974, the latter investigations around the Court of Appeal time in

:21:29. > :21:38.the late '80s and then the further work that was done in the '90s.

:21:39. > :21:44.That's a massive amount of paperwork. A task force from the

:21:45. > :21:48.Counter Terrorism Unit has spent the past year piecing it all together at

:21:49. > :21:52.a top`secret location. None of this has been shown on television before

:21:53. > :21:57.and even now detectives insisted on filming it themselves. I fully

:21:58. > :22:01.understand and appreciate, having spoken to them, some of the pain

:22:02. > :22:09.they carry, having gone for so long not knowing all of the circumstances

:22:10. > :22:12.that surround this case. We'll go where the evidence goes in time and

:22:13. > :22:17.we'll go with reinvestigating if that's the right thing to do. If

:22:18. > :22:19.there's no hope, then clearly we'll need to make that decision and we'll

:22:20. > :22:33.need to explain it. But his predecessors messed up. The

:22:34. > :22:40.evidence they gathered was ruled unsafe by the highest court in the

:22:41. > :22:44.land. What hope is there? It's very much on record, isn't it, that the

:22:45. > :22:47.original work was found to be flawed by the Court of Appeal? The approach

:22:48. > :22:51.that was taken to managing families in these types of cases is very

:22:52. > :22:55.different today than it was then, and it's right that we have a much

:22:56. > :22:59.closer relationship with them. We're definitely doing this because it is

:23:00. > :23:02.the right thing to do and it's right that we should be able to answer

:23:03. > :23:08.their questions in time." The Hambletons are running out of

:23:09. > :23:12.patience with the police. But Paddy's come through with his

:23:13. > :23:22.promise and has invited them to his solicitor's office in Camden. If

:23:23. > :23:25.they have information that can provide some answers to some of our

:23:26. > :23:26.questions, it will be a truly remarkable moment in our campaign

:23:27. > :23:35.for justice. They're about to meet someone who

:23:36. > :23:45.thinks it's remarkable they've never been shown any evidence. I brought

:23:46. > :23:49.back enough boxes that I thought we could get started but I did not want

:23:50. > :23:57.to overwhelm you. There are a lot more. The renowned human rights

:23:58. > :24:01.lawyer Gareth Peirce got Paddy out of jail and has every scrap of

:24:02. > :24:06.paperwork, over 200 Boxes' worth. Maybe this is useful for you to take

:24:07. > :24:10.away with you as well, because it helps you keep track of what the

:24:11. > :24:16.evidence was. But where do they start? We'd like to know everything.

:24:17. > :24:24.We have a right to know everything. The lawyer agrees. I think they have

:24:25. > :24:27.a completely reasonable, appropriate, just expectation, and

:24:28. > :24:38.that's simply to be told the truth, be given the data that exists.

:24:39. > :24:43.That's not a big ask. It looks like they've got a lot of reading to do.

:24:44. > :24:50.Thank goodness for Gareth and what Paddy's done to make things

:24:51. > :24:53.available to us. It is a very odd alliance, something we would never

:24:54. > :24:57.have conceived prior to 12 months ago, but as the old saying goes,

:24:58. > :25:01.needs must, and we are ` for want of a better expression ` fighting for

:25:02. > :25:21.the same cause, looking for the same answers. Looking for the same

:25:22. > :25:30.answers. But should they really be doing their own detective work? The

:25:31. > :25:33.police exist to investigate ` they're paid enormous sums, they're

:25:34. > :25:36.given enormous resources, they're given exceptional powers over the

:25:37. > :25:45.rest of the citizens of this country. They've failed in a

:25:46. > :25:48.spectacular way, failed these families in a disgraceful way, and

:25:49. > :26:08.so far as I can detect, they haven't owned up to the families the ways in

:26:09. > :26:11.which they failed. Let alone any analysis of how they believe they

:26:12. > :26:15.might succeed. As the other half of this odd alliance, what does Paddy

:26:16. > :26:18.think they should do next? There is some good members of Parliament out

:26:19. > :26:22.there, and there is some good police officers as well, and I have no

:26:23. > :26:25.doubt that as time goes on, hopefully in the near future

:26:26. > :26:30.someone's going to step up and come out with the truth. Let's get it

:26:31. > :26:34.done once and for all and hopefully not only for the victims, but it

:26:35. > :26:41.will also give us and our families closure. The Hambletons have taken

:26:42. > :26:47.some important and difficult steps this year, learning a lot about the

:26:48. > :26:51.case and campaigning. If you had told us 24 months ago we were going

:26:52. > :27:05.to meet Paddy Hill, we'd have said you were off your rocker.

:27:06. > :27:12.The Prime Minister now knows about Justice four The 21. He's reading

:27:13. > :27:16.Brian and Julie's dossier, and they expect an update on the police

:27:17. > :27:19.review in the new year. The anniversary makes November a

:27:20. > :27:25.difficult month, but this year has been about moving forward. I've

:27:26. > :27:28.always had the sense that the people in power ` MPs, governments, the

:27:29. > :27:36.police ` think that we would probably only last five minutes, but

:27:37. > :27:40.we're still here ` we won't go away. I don't know how long I'll be on

:27:41. > :27:52.this planet for, but I will be fighting this until the day I die.

:27:53. > :27:56.Sign the petition, folks! We need the people of Birmingham to stand

:27:57. > :28:01.up, to come out and support our campaign. We need the whole of the

:28:02. > :28:07.UK to come out and support our campaign, said that we, all a group,

:28:08. > :28:13.can force the hands of the authorities to bring the truth out

:28:14. > :28:44.with several, and for justice to be served and to be seen to be done.

:28:45. > :28:47.Hello, I'm Ellie Crisell with your 90 second update.

:28:48. > :28:50.A woman's pleaded guilty to murdering three men whose bodies

:28:51. > :28:52.were dumped in ditches in Cambridgeshire. They were all

:28:53. > :28:54.stabbed. Joanna Dennehy also admitted two attempted murders.

:28:55. > :29:00.Google and Microsoft are to block searches for child sex abuse.

:29:01. > :29:02.Changes will prevent thousands of terms from producing results.

:29:03. > :29:04.Critics say most internet paedophiles don't use ordinary

:29:05. > :29:07.search engines anyway. Dozens of tornadoes have left a

:29:08. > :29:08.trail of destruction across five American