A court rules Chris Mullin may guard a source over the Birmingham pub bombings despite police pressure.
Image source, PA Media
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.
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