It’s more than 40 years since the Birmingham Pub Bombings in which 21 people were murdered.

But the truth about what happened that day has never come to light.

Now, there is a chance for the families of those who died finally to learn what really took place.

This isn’t about the Birmingham Six. It’s not even really about the IRA.

It’s about the police and the security services - and whether they could have stopped it happening.

Birmingham Coroner Louise Hunt made this clear in June when she agreed to requests from the families to re-open the inquests. She said: “I have serious concerns that advanced notice of the bombs may have been available to the police and they failed to take the necessary steps to protect life.”

There’s one problem. The families have no funding to pay their legal fees - and Theresa May, the Prime Minster, and Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, are refusing to help.

Their refusal comes even though there is a clear precedent for providing support.

Relatives of the 96 football fans who died in Hillsborough in 1989 were given funding, and there’s no reason why the Government can’t do the same again.

But without financial support, the new inquests into the Birmingham Pub Bombings, due to begin in November, become pointless affairs.

Brian and Julie Hambleton, whose sister Maxine was one of the victims, with fellow campaigners near Downing Street.
Brian and Julie Hambleton, whose sister Maxine was one of the victims, with fellow campaigners near Downing Street.

The Birmingham Pub Bombings on November 21, 1974, were among the worst terrorist attacks in British history. The IRA were responsible .

Bombs planted in two pubs, the Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town, killed 21 people and injured 182 others.

But no inquest into the deaths has ever been completed.

Only the most preliminary stages were carried out, because a criminal investigation was on-going.

The investigation led to the wrongful conviction of six men, widely-known as the Birmingham Six, who were eventually released in 1991.

At long last, the inquests are to be resumed.

The former Chief Coroner of England and Wales, Peter Thornton, has been drafted in to oversee hearings and a pre-inquest review is scheduled for 28 November 2016.

Hearings could last two years. And representatives of West Midlands Police and, I’m told, both the Security Service and Secret Intelligence Service (known as MI5 and MI6 respectively) may have questions to answer.

They will be represented by skilled legal teams. Annual accounts published by West Midlands Police in June revealed it has set aside £1 million for lawyers’ fees.

John Rowlands on his wedding day. He was killed aged 46 leaving two sons and wife Iris.
John Rowlands on his wedding day. He was killed aged 46 leaving two sons and wife Iris.

Of course, the Coroner will have plenty of questions to ask.

But the role of the families themselves in challenging evidence and seeking answers will be vital - just as it has been in other inquests, such as that into the Hillsborough deaths.

In fact, the Hillsborough inquests began in March 2014 with the families or their representatives reading profiles of all those who died.

So far, the Birmingham families have been represented free of charge by Belfast-based lawyers KRW Law LLP.

But after two years of pro-bono work, this cannot continue. And no funding has yet been offered.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd announced in September that she was refusing the families’ request for a special fund similar to that created for the Hillsborough families.

Instead, she told them to apply to the independent Legal Aid Agency.

The Government has made a lot of sympathetic noises about the families’ chances of receiving legal aid. This week, Prime Minister Theresa May told the House of Commons: “We are hopeful that that decision will be a positive one.”

Watch: The Birmingham families protest outside the Conservative Party conference

Video Loading

But in reality, the Prime Minister and Ms Rudd have washed their hands of the issue.

They cannot tell the Legal Aid Agency what to do as it is an independent body. Or if they can, they’re certainly haven’t.

It’s unclear whether the money will be provided, and the families have been given indications that it may only come on condition they drop their current legal team - which they are understandably unwilling to do.

The Birmingham families are in a desperate situation. Local MPs have rallied behind them, and others from across the country have begun to get involved.

Andy Burnham, the senior Labour MP who fought for the Hillsborough families, is backing their campaign.

But time is running out. Unless the Government thinks again about funding, there is a real danger that the truth about the Birmingham Pub Bombings might never be told.