A call has been made for a public inquiry into the Birmingham pub bombings, exactly 50 years after the IRA atrocity took place.

DUP MP Jim Shannon noted that the government had decided earlier this year to launch such an inquiry into the death of a single man, Pat Finucane, and this “set the precedent” – so now the families of the 21 people slain in Birmingham deserve the same too.

He was one of several signatories to an early day motion tabled by TUV MP Jim Allister, calling for an inquiry.

On November 21, 1974, the IRA planted bombs at two pubs – the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town – in Birmingham city centre.

placeholder image — A police officer stands before the damage caused by one of the two pub bombings which hit the city on 21st November 1974, in Birmingham, West Midlands, England, 23rd November 1974. The bombings, which were attributed to the Provisional IRA, took place in two central Birmingham pubs, killing 21 (Photo by Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

As well as the 21 fatalities, a huge number of people were injured.

The following day the IRA denied responsibility – a denial which has been widely rubbished.

In 2017, a Dublin man called Michael Hayes spoke to the media to say he was an IRA “participant” in the bombings, but claimed republicans had “no intention of hurting anybody” and that the scale of death “shocked the IRA”.

Mr Allister’s early day motion read: “That this House notes with real sadness the 50th anniversary of the Birmingham Pub Bombings which took place on 21 November 1974 in which 21 people were killed and 220 injured, the most deadly terrorist attack on British soil and largest unsolved mass murder;

"Further notes that it is widely recognised that, despite their never having accepted responsibility, this was a brutal act of IRA terrorism;

"Praises the work of Julie Hambleton, sister of Maxine Hambleton who was killed in the bombings, in setting up Justice 4 the 21;

"And calls on the Government to honour the calls of Justice 4 the 21 for a public inquiry out of respect for the memories of the 21, all those who were injured, and their families.”

An early day motion is a kind of symbolic statement; they are rarely selected for debate, and are more usually tabled to make a point.

Seven MPs have put their name to it, including three Labour ones.

One of those to have done so is DUP Strangford MP Mr Shannon.

He told the News Letter: “The Labour Party now have set a precedent [with the Finucane inquiry].

"And I believe the Labour Party have to show equality for everyone, every victim of attacks, whether it be any part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – in this case Birmingham victims.

"They deserve the very same as the Finucane family do in Belfast.

"I think Hilary Benn was wrong to sanction the Finucane case and not give any of the other victims and families the same opportunity.

"Why? Only Hilary Benn can answer that one properly. Only the Labour Party.”

South Down DUP MLA Diane Forsythe added: “Whilst other cases have received significant resources, attention and repeated investigation, the families of those murdered in Birmingham, like so many other murders, feel like they have been swept aside.

"The door to justice should never be closed, and the Birmingham pub bombings are another reminder of that. Attempts to close down investigations were simply another way of sweeping these difficult cases aside. Were it not for the tenacity of campaigners like Julie Hambleton, then that might have happened.

“Those who campaign for truth and justice when it comes to the actions of the state, haven’t even been able to bring themselves to admit that it was the Provisional IRA who were responsible for the murders.

"We will continue to stand with the families of those murdered in Birmingham as in so many other cases who see a hierarchy of victims in practice.”