Last week the West Midland Police (WMP) applied to an Old Bailey judge for an order requiring retired investigative journalist Chris Mullin to produce unredacted notes of an interview with a confidential source who admitted having planted the Birmingham Pub bombs in 1974.
The notes date back to 1986 and the interview was conducted and published by Mullin in his successful investigation aimed at proving the innocence of the Birmingham Six. The Six had by then been in prison, following a flawed investigation by the WMP, for 12 years.
Mullin provided his notes to WMP in 2019 but with redactions he considered necessary to comply with his ethical duty to protect the identity of his journalistic source.
Mullin told the court that if the application was successful it would “set a precedent which could be used to undermine the freedom of journalists to investigate alleged miscarriages of justice and other matters in cases involving terrorism”. Judgment is awaited.
Gavin Millar QC represented Chris Mullin and was instructed by Louis Charalambous of Simons Muirhead Burton LLP.