Convicted IRA bomber now accused of role in Birmingham pub bombings

Just some of the faces of the 21 lives claimed by 1974 Birmingham pub bombingsBBC / YOUTUBE

The unnamed man was door-stepped by an investigative TV journalist, who accused him of playing a role in 1974 Birmingham pub bombings.

A convicted IRA bomber is confronted by reporter John Ware as part of a documentary, "The Hunt For The Birmingham Bombers," aired on Monday night.

As the man left a Tesco in Belfast, Ware questioned him about his suspected role in the catastrophic tragedy.

While the man was named on the ITV documentary, he cannot be named online or in print in due to the difference between libel laws in Northern Ireland and the UK.

In the documentary, the man responds to Ware firmly denying any involvement in the tragedy.

We've been working hard with @WildPicturesUK on their latest investigative doc 'The Hunt for the Birmingham Bombers'. Read all about our fast turnaround schedule in @Broadcast_TECH here: https://t.co/U8ZopjpOeR and then watch the doc tonight on @ITV at 10.45pm. Must see TV! pic.twitter.com/KQHa4Y5xuA
— Clear Cut Pictures (@ClearCutPics) October 1, 2018

"I've got nothing to say... Well, you can ask what you want, but I'm not going to answer... You're wasting your time," he said.

The suspect's solicitor told the TV channel, "Our client denies all the allegations ... and does not intend to respond any further to the unfounded allegations you have made."

Ware also implicated the late James Francis Gavin to the bombings. The former British soldier, then 34 years old, had previously been linked with the IRA.

Two prime suspects for the Birmingham pub bombings are named in an ITV Exposure documentary. @KatyRickittITV reports.

Watch The Hunt For The Birmingham Bombers tonight 10.45pm @ITV pic.twitter.com/uqKXYuRZY3
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) October 1, 2018

He stood trial under-the alias James Kelly alongside the wrongly convicted 'Birmingham Six' Group and was convicted of handling explosives. One of the most infamous miscarriages of justice in English legal history, their convictions were quashed in 1991 after a long battle by campaigners, including the MP and journalist Chris Mullin.

Gavin was handed a one-year sentence and fled to Ireland upon his release where he remained until his death in 2002. ITV states that Gavin had been named previously in connection with the bombings but not as the bomb-planter before this investigative documentary.

'@ITV doc The Hunt for the Birmingham Bombers, which airs at 10:45pm tonight, required post house @ClearCutPics to work at speed, dealing with last minute filming and editorial approvals a day before TX - https://t.co/7bobpml88i
— Broadcast TECH (@Broadcast_TECH) October 1, 2018

The Daily Mail reports that last week, Britain's Court of Appeal backed a coroner's decision not to allow the forthcoming resumed inquests into the deaths of the bomb victims to examine who was responsible for the atrocity.

Announcing the Court of Appeal's decision over the forthcoming resumed inquests, Lord Burnett said coroner Sir Peter Thornton had made 'no error of law' when he ruled in July 2017 that trying to identify suspected bombers would be unlawful because the inquests could be seen as 'taking on the role of a proxy trial.'

Campaigners said the hearings will be 'utterly redundant' without discussing who built and planted the bombs that decimated two city center pubs 44 years ago.

The crime remains the largest unsolved terror act in UK history. The explosions at two pubs, the Tavern in the Town and Mulberry Bush, killed 21 people and injured 220.