Chris Mullin Error of Judgement: The Birmingham Bombings and the Scandal That Shook Britain

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Error of Judgment lit a fire under the establishment when it was first published, shattering the prosecution case against six Irishmen charged with the Birmingham Bombings and going on to change the course of British legal history.

On the evening of 21st November 1974, bombs planted by the IRA in two crowded Birmingham pubs exploded, killing 21 people and injuring at least 170. Within a day of the explosion, six men - Paddy Hill, Gerry Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, Billy Power, Johnny Walker and Hughie Callaghan - were arrested and charged. All were found guilty.Methodically, with total clarity and a tone that is both gripping and impassioned, then investigative journalist Mullin unpicked every detail of the case, revealing gaping holes in the prosecution case and the horrifying consequences of an establishment determined to close ranks.

Now 50 years on from the Birmingham Bombings and with new writing from Mullin, this presentation tells the complete story of one of the most significant miscarriages of justice ever. As relevant now as it was when it was first published, it's an essential text on corruption, violence and bias in British policing and justice.

As stated by the Observer: Very occasionally a journalist starts an avalanche with a single gunshot: William Howard Russell of The Times on the condition of the British Army in the Crimea in the 1850s; WT Stead of the Pall Mall Gazette on child prostitution in London in the 1890s; a handful of others. Chris Mullin and his TV colleagues belong in the glorious company.

Chris Mullin is an author, journalist and former MP, a minister in three departments and chairman of the Home Affairs select committee. His books include three highly acclaimed volumes of diaries, "A View from the Foothills", "Decline and Fall" and "A Walk-On Part". He has recently published a fourth volume, 'Didn't You Use to be Chris Mullin? (Diaries 2010-22). He is the author of four novels, the best known of which, "A Very British Coup", was made into an award-winning television series. In 2018 he published a sequel, 'The Friends of Harry Pertkins'. In 2016 he published, 'Hinterland -- a Memoir'.

A Q&A Session will follow.