Support Our Work Mailing list About / Contact

NI: Birmingham 6 - formal apologybut no cash

01 July 1997

Support our work: become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

In July the Home Secretary, Jack Straw, formally apologised to the Birmingham 6 for their wrongful conviction for an IRA pub bombing in 1974, which resulted in their imprisonment for 17 years (see Statewatch 1:3). The apology followed a vociferous campaign by the men, which included a picket of the Home Office on the day before they received the apology. The letter from Mr Straw, in which he refused to meet the men, also promised "further interim payments" in compensation for their imprisonment. Each of the men has received £200,000 to date but recent offers have attempted divide them by offering different amounts. The men plan to refuse any offer that doesn't pay them the same amount. In a letter to Straw they wrote: "Unless there is a substantial improvement in the overall offer of compensation, and serious attempts to settle our claim quickly, we intend to go for a judicial review and take our case to Europe."

Guardian 25.7.97.

Our work is only possible with your support.
Become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

 Previous article

UK: Green Anarchists go to trial

Next article 

UK: Telephones cut off in emergencies

 

Spotted an error? If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know.

Report error

Statewatch does not have a corporate view, nor does it seek to create one, the views expressed are those of the author. Statewatch is not responsible for the content of external websites and inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement. Registered UK charity number: 1154784. Registered UK company number: 08480724. Registered company name: The Libertarian Research & Education Trust. Registered office: MayDay Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH. © Statewatch ISSN 1756-851X. Personal usage as private individuals "fair dealing" is allowed. We also welcome links to material on our site. Usage by those working for organisations is allowed only if the organisation holds an appropriate licence from the relevant reprographic rights organisation (eg: Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK) with such usage being subject to the terms and conditions of that licence and to local copyright law.

About | Contact | Privacy Policy