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LESLIE Thomas, the admirable QC for nine of the bereaved Birmingham pub bombings families had a turn of phrase which he used on several occasions in the recent inquest.

“Setting that matter on the shelf, for the moment,” he would say. Or “Let me park that on the shelf for the moment.”

For a moment I want to set aside the criminal investigation which has, according to West Midlands Chief Constable Dave Thompson, been given fresh impetus - though that was almost three months ago and we are unaware of any progress.

So let’s temporarily “park that on the shelf,” together with the disgraceful mismatch in funding between the families and the Coroner’s legal team which has become apparent since the inquest finished.

Instead, I want to focus on another issue which permeated the six week hearing. It is an issue which is extremely relevant to policing today, being mindful of the ever present terror threat which has become part of modern day life. The issue is force communications.

The 1974 West Midlands Police Force Control Room, in Newton Street, was, by the standards of the day, as good as you could get in the UK. Yet it was hopeless when the bombers struck.

The state-of-the art kit, which had not been long installed, failed to cope.

The bombings were its first big test. Yet at the moment it was most needed, it failed. And it was a spectacular fail.

Ahead of the bombing bloodbath, the force had been so proud of it that it gave guided tours for visitors. One, involving computer studies students from West Hill College, had been due to take place that very night. In the event it was cancelled, for uncertain reasons.

Had the visit gone ahead the students would have witnessed an effective meltdown - something which had been kept under wraps until the new inquest.

The reason? After the first bomb exploded at The Mulberry Bush the control room was “inundated” with automatic 999 alarm system calls from scores of premises surrounding the Rotunda and simply could not cope with the deluge. Whoever designed it had not factored in such a situation.

How stupid, you may think. Everything seems obvious in hindsight.

The huge volume of 999 calls effectively clogged up the system and made communication very difficult between the control room and the limited number of frontline police staff who were able to respond immediately to the war zone that New Street became.

As a result, it was not until up to two hours after the bombs detonated that control room inspector John Evans became was fully aware that the number of casualties and that the seriousness of the situation justified putting a “Catatstophe Scheme” into operation.

Fast forward now to the present time. The communications system used by West Midland Police is due to be changed by the Home Office.

The current system, called ‘Airwaves’ which is used by all the emergency services in the UK, will be swapped for a 4G network. The problem is the new network has already been delayed several times because the project has faced “all sorts of difficulties” according to Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson.

But Airwaves needs to go. Speaking at a meeting of the Strategic Policing and Crime Board in February, Mr Jamieson frankly admitted: “Some of our current equipment is out of date.”

Disturbingly, it is already accepted the 4G network will not be ready in time for the 2022 Commonwealth Games giving rise to concerns over whether what is currently available will be “fit for purpose.”

(Image: Darren Quinton/Birmingham Live)

Mr Jamieson said: “Astonishingly, one of the criticisms of Airwaves was that it didn’t work very well in rural areas, but worked well in urban areas.

“The replacement, we understand, is the reverse. It worked well in rural areas, but most of the communications we need are, of course, in urban areas. And there were these urban troughs and valleys in which the system didn’t operate.”

The lessons of 1974 show that whatever communication system is in operation it has to be the very best in terms of its capabalitity, reliability, functionality and adaptability.

Anything less is inexcusable. And, even if it meets all that criteria, given the speed which technology is developing, there needs to be an acceptance that it may still have only a very limited lifespan.

After all, superfast 5G technology has already arrived in Birmingham

The cost of the new system seems unclear. Perhaps no-one knows.

But part of the mantra of the Justice4the21 campaign group is that lessons from the past have to be learned, if the future for everyone is to be safer.

The West Midlands force watched what happened at the inquest keenly. Or at least, that is what Mr Thompson said.

Let’s hope Sajid David’s Home Office did, too.

(Image: Birmingham Mail)

It has to get this new communications system right, not only for the police, but for everyone’s sakes.

The inquest jury concluded at the end of five weeks that the 21 people killed in the Birmingham pub bombings were murdered by the IRA.

Bombers struck at city centre bars The Mulberry Bush and The Tavern In The Town on November 21, 1974.

The jury heard evidence from retired police inspector John Evans, who said: “It was not possible for communication to be efficient between the control room and officers at the scene.”

He said he had been told by his force control room colleague William ‘Jock’ Phillips that “either a bomb had gone off or had been placed at a location which was adjacent to the Rotunda.”

PC Phillips had immediately called the Digbeth sub division where he spoke to former Sergeant William Wilson.

PC Wilson recalled that later there had been “chaos” and added “the consul in the control room at Digbeth crashed.”

And one of the first officers on the scene, PC Derek Bradbury, told the inquest: “Our radios were very poor quality. Sometimes they wouldn’t work and the batteries kept falling out.”