the Birmingham Six
/ðə ˌbɜːmɪŋəm ˈsɪks/
/ðə ˌbɜːrmɪŋəm ˈsɪks/
- six Irishmen who were sent to prison for life in England for putting IRA bombs in two pubs in Birmingham, England, in 1974. The bombs had killed 21 people, but the six men protested that they were innocent. In the 1980s new scientific tests proved that the evidence against them was not reliable, and that the police had changed their notes. In 1991 the Six were set free. The police officers responsible for their being sent to prison were never punished. This was one of several cases at around the same time that made the British public doubt the honesty of the police, particularly when dealing with Irish or black people. see also Carl Bridgewater, Guildford Four, Tottenham Three
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the Birmingham Six