Birmingham Six Hugh Callaghan - one of the wrongly convicted - dies aged 93

One of the Birmingham Six, who was wrongly jailed over two IRA bombings in 1974, has died aged 93.

Hugh Callaghan died at Homerton hospital in London on Saturday (May 27) after being admitted with chest pains. On November 21, 1974, 21 people died and 182 were injured after two blasts at the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town in Birmingham city centre.

Six men were jailed for the incident but they were freed in 1991 when their convictions were ruled unsafe. They were freed after 16 years in jail after a campaign by the Labour MP Chris Mullin. No one else has ever been brought to justice for the terrorist attack.

Mr Callaghan, from Belfast, had moved to Birmingham in the 1960s and later to London with his partner Adeline Masterson.

“Hugh’s passing feels like the end of an era. We loved and admired him very much, and all of us are so proud that he was a part of our lives,” said a statement from the Mulready family - who were friends with Callaghan.

The five other men jailed with him were Patrick Hill, Gerry Hunter, Johnny Walker, Billy Power and Richard McIlkenny, who died in 2006.

Relatives of the 21 victims continue to campaign for justice. Margaret Smith, the mother of bombings victim Maxine Hambleton, runs the Justice4the21 group, which has been asking for a public inquiry into the bombings, which remain unsolved.