Ex IRA bomber admits: Birmingham pub bombings were "a mistake"
ONE of the most seriously injured survivors of the Birmingham pub bombings has revealed she received an astonishing private admission from a prominent former IRA bomber.
Maureen Mitchell, from Acocks Green, was seriously injured on the dreadful night 35 years ago and was even given the Last Rites.
The bombs exploded inside the Mulberry Bush, under the Rotunda, and the Tavern in the Town, in New Street, just after 8.17pm on November 21, 1974.
The IRA has never admitted responsibility for the atrocity.
Mrs Mitchell, 56, met the former bomber during special reconciliation sessions in Ireland not long after the 30th anniversary of the attacks.
She said: “At the one session I was at a different table from my husband and I could see that he was getting angry.
“He was talking to an ex bomber who was convicted of a bombing in the 1980s, but was released as part of the peace process. He told Andy that the IRA had ‘never targeted civilians’.
“Andy was incensed, so he called me over and said ‘how do you explain what happened to my wife?’
“He told us that it was a mistake, but he said the IRA would never admit that publicly.
“It is always going to be in the back of my mind that nobody has ever officially admitted to it, or been convicted. I think that has a big impact on all of us.
“The people who did this will take it to their grave.
“The most important thing is that people of Birmingham do remember and mark the anniversaries in some way.”
The bombs claimed the lives of 21 innocent people and injured another 182, many of them horrifically.
Shrapnel ripped through Mrs Mitchell’s hip and lodged in her bowel. She also suffered serious leg injuries and severe burns, the scars of which she carries on her upper arm to this day.
Six men were given life sentences for the bombings in 1975, but they were released in 1991 after their convictions were quashed because forensic evidence used against them was found to be unsafe.
Birmingham marks the 35th anniversary of the bombings today with a Remembrance Service at St Philip’s Cathedral.
Survivors and rescuers were gathering to mark the grim anniversary.
The current Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Michael Wilkes, was laying a wreath at this morning’s memorial during a 20-minute service to honour the people who perished.
Invitations were sent to relatives of the victims, the survivors and members of the emergency services for the 9.30am service.
The Lord Mayor said: “The impact on this city was considerable and to this day people continue to remember those who died. May they rest in peace.”
Read our features marking the 35th anniversary of the IRA attacks on Birmingham
