Call for apology to Birmingham Six

One of the six Irishmen wrongly imprisoned for the Birmingham pub bombings has sent a letter to the British Prime Minister calling…

One of the six Irishmen wrongly imprisoned for the Birmingham pub bombings has sent a letter to the British Prime Minister calling for a public apology.

Mr Paddy Hill applauded Mr Blair's apology to the Guildford Four and Maguire Seven.

But he said the British prime minister's actions had left other innocent victims feeling more stigmatised than ever.

Mr Hill, who now runs the Miscarriages of Justice Organisation in Scotland, said: "Tony Blair did the decent, honest and courageous thing in apologising publicly to the Guildford Four and Maguire Seven.

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"I'm delighted for them because they can now begin to heal. But it's left a big cloud over everyone else's head. The stigma is worse than ever now because the implication is that, because he apologised to them but not us, we must be guilty." He believes a public apology would go a long way to ending an ongoing whispering campaign that surrounds victims of miscarriages of justice.

"When there is no apology, there remains a perception that we are in fact guilty, but were lucky enough to be freed on a technicality. It's an awful position for innocent people to be in and adds to the stress and depression that many people experience when they are released," he said.

A Downing Street spokesman said there would be no comments until the Prime Minister had received Mr Hill's letter.