Police arrest man, 65, in Belfast over the murders of 21 people in the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings
A 65-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murders of 21 people in the 1974 pub bombings in Birmingham.
Officers from Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands, working with colleagues from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, arrested the suspect in Belfast today.
The man was arrested under the Terrorism Act and a search of his home is being carried out.
He will be interviewed under caution at a police station in Northern Ireland.
In 1975, six men – the Birmingham Six – were convicted over the blasts but acquitted 16 years later. The attacks remain Britain’s largest unsolved terror crime.
West Midlands Police said the suspect was held by counter-terror officers in Belfast.
The force said in a statement: ‘A man has been arrested in connection with inquiries into the murders of 21 people in the 1974 pub bombings in Birmingham.
‘Officers from Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands CTU, working with colleagues from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, arrested a 65-year-old man at his home in Belfast today.
‘The man was arrested under the Terrorism Act and a search of his home is being carried out.
‘He will be interviewed under caution at a police station in Northern Ireland.’
Firemen at work following the bomb attacks in Birmingham city centre that targeted the Mulberry Bush pub and the Tavern in the Town
Maxine Hambleton was one of 11 people killed in the Tavern in the Town pub