Matt Ward

A Journalist can keep secret the identity of A Man who police say is responsible for the deaths of 21 people in the Birmingham pub bombings.

A court backed Chris Mullin in a fight against West Midlands Police which wanted to force him to reveal a source over the 1974 atrocities.

The Force maintained Mr Mullin's historical notes could solve the case by identifying those responsible.

The former MP said he was " grateful" for The Judge 's decision.

" The Right of A Journalist to protect His or her sources is fundamental to a free press in a democracy, " He Said in a statement after the Old Bailey ruling.

" My actions in this case were overwhelmingly in The Public interest. "

Mr Mullin helped expose The Innocence of the so-called Birmingham Six, The Men freed from prison in 1991 when their convictions over the deaths of the 21 were quashed.

No others, however, have been brought to justice for the blasts at the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in The Town pubs, and The Force says its investigation has remained active.

In 2019, an inquest jury found an " inadequate" IRA warning call on The Night of the bombings caused or contributed to the deaths.

The Information sought by police pertained to investigations by Mr Mullin in 1985 to 1986.

The Work contributed to the release of the Birmingham Six but Mr Mullin always said he could not reveal the identity of an IRA man who helped prove the miscarriage of justice.

He Said he had been guided only by His efforts to " rescue" The Innocent , and that process had been contingent on guaranteeing the anonymity of crucial parties he interviewed.

The Police legal team said The Matter centred on The Bomb planter, referred to In Court as AB - His True Identity redacted in Mr Mullin's notes which were handed over " voluntarily" to police, save for certain omissions.

Police barristers said therein AB had made a " Full Confession to the murders".

The Force knows who AB is and His links to The Ira . But, its barristers said, the unredacted notes were needed to link the " confession" to the individual.

Having refused to comply, Mr Mullin thanked the National Union of Journalists who had backed His stance, as well as His legal team which called the outcome a " landmark freedom of expression decision".

Police lawyers had said the benefit of bringing The Guilty to justice outweighed any promise of anonymity to sources.

After the ruling, The Force 's assistant chief constable Matt Ward said: " This Was a complex issue balancing the need to pursue all significant lines of inquiry related to the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings against the rights of journalists to keep the sources of their information confidential.

" The Court has given its independent judgment which we will now consider carefully.

" West Midlands Police remains committed to bringing to justice those responsible for the murder of 21 Innocent Victims . "

Judge Mark Lucraft QC, the Recorder of London, agreed with police that Mr Mullin's research included material that was likely to be of " substantial value" to a terrorism investigation.

" It is difficult to see how a reliable note of a voluntary confessions is not something of substantial value, " He Said .

However, he added that no matter how strong that case was, it did not override the protection of Mr Mullin's material under Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights .

That law means journalists are protected from being forced to reveal their sources where their work has been carried out for a genuine public interest.

Source of news: bbc.com