Pod Insights British Scandal The Birmingham Six | Funeral for a Friend | 1 About this episode When IRA bombs tear through two pubs in Birmingham and kill 21 innocent people, Detective Superintendent George Reade knows he has to act fast to find the perpetrators. But for Paddy Hill and five friends - on their way to Ireland for a funeral - this is the start of a torturous nightmare that will become the biggest miscarriage of justice in British history.
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0:00 Alice Levine? Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of British Scandal ad-free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app.
0:13 Matt Forde? Alice, incredibly, this is our 61st series.
0:16 Alice Levine? No way, 61, happy birthday.
0:20 Matt Forde? Happy birthday, happy birthday, everyone. We are 61. All the best people are 61, aren't they?
0:24 Alice Levine? Yeah, I guess. I mean, like, they say, like, 50 is the new 40, 61 is the new, you know, every age. So let's have a look. Who is 61? Ah, um, Boris Johnson, 61.
0:39 Matt Forde? Yeah, I mean, look, you're gonna get the odd bad egg in a whole packet of eggs.
0:44 Alice Levine? Yeah. Why are you buying your eggs in packets? Okay, uh, there must be somebody good here. Oh, oh, Sarah Palin.
0:53 Matt Forde? Statistically, some 61-year-olds are gonna be less good than others.
0:57 Alice Levine? It's not gonna be consistent across the board, is it?
0:59 Matt Forde? It's not a problem.
1:00 Alice Levine? I bet we've got a gem here. Oh.
1:05 Alice Levine? Ah, okay, Nigel Farage.
1:12 Matt Forde? I start to think that being 61 is bad. Maybe, I don't know, can we just skip this series and go straight to being 62?
1:19 Alice Levine? Okay, great. That's a really good idea, because it actually, it just feels off, doesn't it? It just feels, it feels a bit jinxed. So if people are listening, this will now just go silent for about half an hour.
1:29 Matt Forde? Yeah, we just had a message from Wondery saying we can't do that, because we do need to play the episode, but let's just not think about who we share our birthday with.
1:37 Alice Levine? Okay, good idea. Oh, Michelle Obama.
1:39 Matt Forde? Thank God.
1:49 Matt Forde? September 1975, Deansgate, Manchester. Chris Mullin rushes along the River Irwell, then cuts down Bridge Street towards the Guardian offices. He glances at his watch. He's due to meet a contact at 3pm in the White Lion, and he's running late. He dashes across the road, ducks into the pub's low entrance, glances behind to check he isn't being followed.
2:16 Matt Forde? Inside, he pushes his way through the Friday afternoon punters, until he spots a small but spectacled man with neatly groomed hair and moustache, sitting in the back corner.
2:25 Alice Levine? Three options: Hitler, Penfold, hipster.
2:28 Matt Forde? It's Hitler. This is a heck of a series. We found him in Manchester in the 1970s. You're not going to believe what happens next.
2:37 Matt Forde? The Guardian's court reporter, Peter Chippendale, offers him one of two pints on the small round table. Sorry about all the cloak and dagger stuff, Chris. I can't have my head to get in wind of this.
2:49 Matt Forde? Mullins watches Peter survey the room as he takes a seat, then furtively pull a manila envelope from his satchel. Do you recognise any of these men?
2:59 Alice Levine? I feel like all the journos always have a satchel. They're never pulling it out of a bag for life, are they?
3:04 Matt Forde? No, he puts his big Sports Direct bag on the table, and takes out the most important document in British history. Mullins takes the file, slips out six photographs, looks them over. A series of mugshots. Six men, all sporting what looked like boxing injuries. Black eyes, cabbage ears, bloodied noses. Mullins peers over his glasses. IRA, the six terrorists convicted of those bombings last year.
3:35 Matt Forde? You know, these pictures were taken while they were in police custody. Mullins cocks an eyebrow. In police custody?
3:43 Matt Forde? Mullins flicks through the photos again, astonished. He takes in the swollen faces, the cuts and abrasions on the men's scalps. He picks one of the photos up to look more closely. Are those burns? I was in that court every day, Chris, I'm telling you. I've never known a trial like it.
4:05 Matt Forde? Peter takes a sip of his pint. Why are you giving this to me? Mullin can feel his heartbeat quicken. He watches as Peter looks nervously around him, drops his voice to a whisper. Chris, you're the only person I know who can take this story on. Mullin blinks back at him. He's done investigations into everything from the Vietnam War to bombings in Cambodia, but a police brutality case is not really in his wheelhouse. Listen, Peter, I'm not sure this is for me. I don't think a bit of police violence makes... You don't get it, Chris. It's not that they were beaten up. Peter looks around him, drops his voice so low Mullin can hardly hear.
4:48 Matt Forde? These men, they didn't do it. It's a stitch up. I'm sure of it. Mullin looks down at the picture again, into the blackened eyes of these men, trying to wrap his head around what this means. I had to fight my editor just to cover their trial. He's not going to let me campaign to overturn their conviction. I need you, Chris. They need you. You're the only person who can do this. Please, help. Mullin knows that going into bat for the Birmingham Six, the IRA, is career suicide. But if Peter is right, it's possible they've been framed for the deadliest attack on British soil since World War II.
5:33 Matt Forde? And that the men who killed 21 innocent people are still on the loose. And if that's truly the case, what Chris Mullin is looking at is the gravest miscarriage of justice this country has ever seen.
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7:07 Speaker 02 Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers, one love.
7:14 Alice Levine? From Wondry, I'm Alice Levine.
7:16 Matt Forde? And I'm Matt Ford.
7:17 Alice Levine? And this is British Scandal, the show where we bring you the murkier stories that ever happened on these odd little isles.
7:24 Matt Forde? British scandals come in many shapes and sizes. Some are about money, some are about sex, they're all about power.
7:30 Alice Levine? But when we look at scandals a bit closer, they turn out to be stranger, wilder, just plain weirder than we remember.
7:37 Matt Forde? So we're journeying back to ask who's to blame for what happened.
7:40 Alice Levine? And when the dust settled, did anything really change?
7:53 Matt Forde? Alice, I've got a first for you this time.
7:55 Alice Levine? Okay, I'm intrigued.
7:56 Matt Forde? Would you believe that in over 60 series of British Scandal, we have never done a miscarriage of justice?
8:02 Alice Levine? That is actually really true, yes, I've never thought about that. And I am really thrilled that you're doing this one, Matt, because we all know, we all love your standard copper. But I'm wondering if your bent copper is going to be any different.
8:14 Matt Forde? Well, this one's going to be a brummy. All the others have been cockney, so we're already in a completely different league. But never mind any of that, that is not the main point. How much do you remember about the Birmingham Six?
8:27 Alice Levine? Okay, the Birmingham Six. There were six of them.
8:31 Matt Forde? Correct.
8:33 Alice Levine? They were IRA?
8:34 Matt Forde? That was the suspicion.
8:36 Alice Levine? Everyone thought they set off a bomb in the centre of Birmingham?
8:39 Matt Forde? Yes, in November nineteen seventy-four, bombs ripped through two pubs in Birmingham. Twenty-one people were killed, many, many more were injured. And the police responded with insane speed. And within twenty-four hours, they already had six men locked up.
8:56 Alice Levine? But am I right in thinking that they didn't do it?
9:00 Matt Forde? You are absolutely right in thinking that. Later, these men were exonerated, but after sixteen years in prison for a crime they did not commit. And the story of their exoneration is the focus of this series. How what happened and what didn't was swept under the carpet in order for these men to be put away and kept there, which meant that the real killers were able to escape justice, all to save face. This all comes down to one man, one journalist with a hunch, who proved one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history.
9:29 Alice Levine? I can't believe we haven't done this before.
9:31 Matt Forde? This is episode one, Funeral for a Friend.
9:41 Matt Forde? Ten months earlier, November twenty-first, nineteen seventy-four, six fifty-five pm, Birmingham New Street Station. It's now Birmingham Grand Central.
9:51 Alice Levine? Good knowledge.
9:53 Matt Forde? Oh, it's changed a lot. Back then, it would have been a right old dump, but now, it's like a spaceship. You can buy sushi, you can buy shoes. What more do you want out of life?
10:01 Alice Levine? What do you think a spaceship is like?
10:04 Matt Forde? Well...
10:05 Alice Levine? I'm just imagining you arriving on the International Space Station, being like, "Yeah, just some sashimi, just point me in the right direction."
10:11 Matt Forde? And have you got any Levis in the thirty-eight?
10:14 Matt Forde? Paddy Hill drops his cigarette, grinds it underfoot, then walks briskly across the concourse towards the station pub. He's not looking forward to breaking the bad news to the lads, but he's made up his mind. He can't go to the funeral, and that's that.
10:32 Matt Forde? Paddy had been as shocked as any of them to hear about the death of his old friend, James McDade. And even more shocked to find out McDade was the IRA man who'd blown himself to smithereens in Coventry last week. Life's hard enough for an Irish unemployed father of six in this city without IRA associations. Especially one who's only recently spent a year in prison. So Paddy doesn't care if custom dictates he attend McDade's funeral back home in Belfast. It's not a trip he can afford to take. And because of that, he has to tell his friends he's not going.
11:07 Matt Forde? Shoving open the sticky oak door of the tourist bar, Paddy spots his five pals sat in a smoky corner playing cards. Gerry Hunter, Richard Mackelkenny, Johnny Walker, Huey Callahan, and Billy Power, who washes him over.
11:23 Alice Levine? Not a single bad name in the bunch.
11:25 Matt Forde? Johnny Walker the pick of the pack.
11:28 Alice Levine? Over Billy Power? You mad?
11:30 Matt Forde? Yeah, but Johnny Walker's an internationally recognised whisky brand, isn't it?
11:33 Alice Levine? Well, Paddy Hill sounds like the marriage of two great gambling dynasties.
11:40 Matt Forde? At yourself, Paddy. Take a seat. Can I get you a drink? Paddy sits. Gerry deals him in. Gerry's belly, but I'm only staying for one. Billy tilts his head.
11:53 Matt Forde? Sorry, lads. I can't come. He looks down at his cards to avoid their glares. You're not serious, Paddy. He can't miss a funeral.
12:05 Matt Forde? Paddy picks the eight of spades, plays it. It's not like your ma's in any fit state to go alone. And sure, hasn't Mrs McDade been thrown off already? Without the likes of you turning your back on her. A flash of guilt pinches Paddy's gut. Yous have all got clean records. All week, I've had police crawling all over my street. Oh, catch yourself on. We always have police round our way. Paddy's about to snap back, but Gerry looks up from his hand. The cat's right, Paddy. I understand your position, I do. But whatever you think of McDade, a mother lost to a child, showing up's the least we can do. Paddy folds his hand. Under any other circumstance, he'd love a trip home.
12:48 Matt Forde? A few days away from the kids, his mum's Sunday lunch, a chance to catch up with old friends.
12:53 Alice Levine? Or just want a night away from the kids at a funeral. I mean, I don't have kids, so maybe that is how you feel. Maybe you would rather go to a funeral.
13:00 Matt Forde? At an IRA funeral, which may then lead to you being ostracised in your current community.
13:04 Alice Levine? A night off's a night off.
13:06 Matt Forde? He takes a sip of his Guinness, looks around the table at the disappointed faces of his mates. Come on, if the IRA is good for anything, they put on a good spread. Paddy chuckles, then sighs. He's gonna catch hell from his wife for this when he gets home. But that's a problem for Sunday night. Right now, he's got a train to catch.
13:37 Matt Forde? One hour later, Lloyd House, West Midlands Police Headquarters. Detective Superintendent George Reade paces his office, waiting for his cover to show up, his jacket on, his dinner getting cold at home. When he took this job on the newly-formed Serious Crime Squad, he figured he'd be doing just that, fighting serious crime. But today, he's been manning phones in a deserted police station, while the rest of the force has been tied up at Birmingham Airport, overseeing the removal of James McDade's remains. It's ridiculous. Those coppers should be out on the street, trying to catch the next James McDade, not babysitting a bloody coffin. And a detective like him, playing secretary?
14:21 Matt Forde? It's no wonder the IRA is running rings around them.
14:25 Matt Forde? Reed looks up at the clock, takes a swig of whisky from his hip flask.
14:29 Alice Levine? I'd argue that's contributing to it, too.
14:34 Speaker 03 About bloody time. Where the hell are the...
14:36 Matt Forde? He stops short, interrupted by a gruff Irish accent.
14:43 Speaker 04 The code word is double X.
14:46 Matt Forde? Reed's muscles tense. Double X is how the provisional IRA announces itself.
14:53 Speaker 03 Who is this? What do you want?
14:57 Speaker 04 There is a bomb and a rotunda.
15:01 Matt Forde? Reed stares at the receiver in his hand and feels his blood run cold. Today is late night shopping and that bomb is in the heart of the city, on Birmingham's busiest street.
15:15 Matt Forde? He throws the phone down, bolts on his desk and races through the main office.
15:20 Speaker 03 Bomb alert on No Street. Everyone down there, all units, now!
15:31 Alice Levine? It's easy to forget how much terrorist activity has changed. We would probably think of the kind of big cornerstones of terrorism in our living memory as 9/11, 7/7 here and the Manchester Arena bombing, which were huge devastating one-off events. But at this time in the 70s, bombs were going off. These were not empty threats. There was a different sense of terror. That threat was constant and chronic.
15:59 Matt Forde? Yes, and back then, there were these phoned-in coded messages, which means that in that moment Reed has the potential, there is the possibility that his actions will limit either the fatalities or the injuries.
16:23 Matt Forde? Reed tears outside, hauling himself into a panda car, fires up the siren then steps on the accelerator. Racing along the road, his heart pounding, his eyes flick between the dashboard clock and the 20-storey rotunda building rising up over the horizon. He screeches his car to a halt 50 yards away, just in time to see it happen.
16:54 Matt Forde? An almighty thunderclap rocks the entire street. Shockwaves hammer up through his steering column. And Reed watches on in wide-eyed horror as the mulberry bush pub bursts open in a blinding ball of fire. Rubble rains down across the pavement. Black clouds of smoke billow out. And then, the screaming starts.
17:21 Matt Forde? Reed barrels out of his car, darts through the crowd of fleeing, blood-soaked punters, towards the blast site. Dust and debris burn his eyes and catch in his throat. Coughing and spluttering, he pulls his sleeve over his mouth and pushes forward through the haze. As the dust begins to settle, the carnage in front of him becomes clearer. Bodies and broken furniture fill the street. A smell of burning flesh catching the back of his throat. He grunts his radio to call for backup, but as his fingers wrap around it, he hears the sound again.
18:02 Matt Forde? Another deafening boom. Spinning around, Reed sees a second horrifying explosion, three hundred yards up the street. The tavern in the town has been ripped inside out. He can make out bodies in the wreckage there, too. Innocent people, maimed and murdered. His stomach heaves. He bends double, tries to take a moment to calm his rising panic.
18:30 Matt Forde? The IRA have never targeted innocent civilians before. His terror turns to pure, hot fury.
18:39 Matt Forde? He has to stop this from ever happening again. He is going to find the animals responsible for this cowardly attack. And when he does, he will bring the full force of the law down on them. He is going to make these bastards pay.
19:08 Matt Forde? Two hours later, Hisham Port, Lancashire. Paddy's heart lurches as the train pulls into the station. Out of the carriage window, he looks on in alarm to see a dozen police officers lining up along the platform. The one thing he was hoping to avoid, and here they all are, out in force. Billy whistles in his ear. "Jesus, would you look at that. Think that's to do with McDade's funeral?" Paddy snaps round. "Fucking hell, Billy. Course it is. Why else would they be here?"
19:46 Matt Forde? His skin starts to bristle with panic. How had he let the lads talk him into this? Obviously the port was going to be crawling with coppers. "Nah, fuck this." "Come on, Paddy. There's nothing illegal about going to a funeral. Besides, you've already paid for your ferry ticket." Billy's right. He doesn't much fancy telling his wife he blew half a week's dole on a round trip to nowhere. So if he's going to do this, he's going to have to do it now, before he loses his nerve. Pushing his way along the packed aisle, Paddy sees an officer outside, inspecting tickets. Slipping his hand into his pocket for his, his pulse spikes as it brushes against something else.
20:30 Matt Forde? His invitation to McDade's funeral. "Fucking hell." He stops dead. He can't be found with this on him. His eyes dart about for somewhere to sling it, but the queue keeps pushing him forward, and he's already at the police checkpoint. Clenching every muscle in his body, Paddy carefully slides the ticket out, holding it for the officer to take. But he doesn't. Instead, the officer turns, his attention summoned by a colleague.
21:02 Matt Forde? Paddy doesn't waste a second. Hopping down onto the platform, he dashes past the copper and slips silently into the moving crowd, weaving his way towards the dock.
21:13 Alice Levine? This sort of makes Paddy seem suspicious, but actually, he's just responding to the Irish prejudice that would have been rife at the time, where everybody was suspicious of Irish people, no matter what their association or their politics.
21:28 Matt Forde? Yeah, and you mentioned 7/7 earlier. Muslim people, brown people experienced it after attacks here, that you would get on the Tube and people would look at you differently. So this is what Irish people were going through at the time, and I've got Irish heritage, you're ginger, it would have been a nightmare for you.
21:49 Matt Forde? Scurrying up the gangplank, safely onto the ferry deck, Paddy exhales in relief. He turns to look for Billy, but can't find him or the others in the crowd. It's not until he looks over to the far side of the station that he catches sight of them, in a huddle, up against the wall, surrounded by police.
22:09 Matt Forde? Paddy takes an anxious half-step back and feels himself colliding into something solid. He turns.
22:17 Matt Forde? A strip of shiny silver buttons gleams before his eyes, set against a dark blue coat. Hands against the railing, please, sir.
22:27 Matt Forde? Paddy feels two firm hands spin him round and start patting down his torso. Get your hands off me, I've done nothing wrong. The officer shifts his hands down to Paddy's hips, and Paddy's mind starts to race. Trying to run, will you? Yeah, I've got him, coming down now. Paddy is helpless, as the officer spins him around and pins his arms behind his back, and then removes McDade's invitation from his pocket. He freezes as he feels the officer pause, his breath on Paddy's neck, before his radio crackles to life. Looks like we've got ourselves a friend of McDade's. Paddy knows from bitter experience that it's useless to put up a fight.
23:10 Matt Forde? The only way he's getting out of this mess is to head to the station and hope he can convince the police he's not IRA.
23:27 Matt Forde? Five hours later, Morecambe Police Station. Paddy grips the edge of his chair to stop himself from fainting. His head feels light. A high pitch rings in his ears. Mr Hill, do you understand what I'm telling you? This is an extremely serious matter. Twenty-one people have been killed, hundreds more critically injured. I need proper answers.
23:54 Alice Levine? My god, this is huge, twenty-one people dead.
23:57 Matt Forde? Yes, this was the biggest loss of life on British soil since World War Two. And obviously, whenever we tell these stories, the focus is so often on the perpetrators. But those twenty-one people never came home. They included Marilyn Nash, who was twenty-two, and her friend Anne Hayes, who was nineteen. They worked together at Miss Selfridge. There was Stanley Bodman, described as a larger-than-life character, who served in the RAF. He was an electrician. The youngest victims were Neil Marsh, who was sixteen, and Paul Davis, who was seventeen. These are all people who still might be with us now, whose lives were cut short, whose relatives and friends still will mourn them. Two more of the victims were Desmond and Eugene Riley, who were out celebrating Desmond's wife's pregnancy.
24:41 Matt Forde? So Desmond's child grew up never knowing their father. So the human impact of that attack isn't just measured in the loss of life on the day. It sends ripples throughout the future. All the things these people would have done with their lives, all their hopes and dreams, just gone.
24:58 Speaker 05 Twenty-one people have been killed, hundreds more critically injured.
25:03 Matt Forde? The words swirl inside his skull. Paddy agreed to come to the station to explain the invitation to McDade's funeral. How is he to know anything about any bombs? You whereabouts? Where were you at seven-thirty this evening?
25:18 Matt Forde? Paddy zones out again, watching a short, stocky man in the corner of the room wearing a lab coat. Mister Hill. Well, I, I was having a drink and a few hands of cards in the pub. The station pub, I mean, not those pubs you're saying that got hit. His stomach gurgles. He hasn't eaten for twenty-four hours, and his stomach ulcer is starting to flare. And you're saying there were people in there? Why did they not give a warning? They usually give a warning. I'll ask the questions, Mister Hill. The man in the lab coat approaches, snapping on a pair of latex gloves. In order to eliminate you from our enquiries, Doctor Scuse is going to conduct a simple swab.
26:03 Matt Forde? Paddy stares, as Doctor Scuse tips a few drops of liquid onto a ball of cotton wool. Should they not have a lawyer present? Paddy sees Doctor Scuse cock his head, a hint of suspicion in his eye. Paddy knows his rights, but he also knows that insisting on a lawyer will cause endless delays, and he just wants to be out of here. Sure, I got nothing to hide.
26:27 Alice Levine? You're Irish, it's the nineteen-seventies, you're in a police station, just deal with the delay, wait for the lawyer. I know you're scared of your wife, and she's gonna be reek mad, but I think, I think on this occasion, she will forgive you for this decision.
26:42 Matt Forde? Paddy offers up his hands, his fingers tickling with the cold ether, as the swab rubs along them. I'm telling you, the dodgiest thing I touched last night was a meat pie I got on the train. He watches as the doctor squeezes the swab into a small beaker, then sits back. Paddy hears him count softly under his breath. At seven, Paddy feels the hairs along his arms stiffen, as Doctor Scuse leans forward, the solution slowly turning pink. Here now. What's that mean? Doctor Scuse peers closer at the substance, then nods to the officer. What does that mean?
27:24 Matt Forde? It means you have recently been in contact with nitroglycerine. Paddy turns to face the officer. Nitro what now? Nitroglycerine, Mister Hill. Explosives.
27:43 Matt Forde? The word hits Paddy like a shovel. He tries to protest. But before he can say anything, he's pulled over the back of his seat, slammed hard into the wall as his arms are wrenched back, the cold, hard click of cuffs pinching his wrists.
28:01 Matt Forde? Patrick Hill, I'm arresting you on suspicion of murder.
28:04 Alice Levine? Jesus.
28:06 Matt Forde? No, that's not true. Run the test again. Run it again. But he doesn't get a chance to finish. Paddy feels a fist come sailing sideways into his jaw, knocking his head against the wall. And then another, and another.
28:22 Matt Forde? His body drops to the floor. His vision clouding. He fights his closing eyelids, trying to remain conscious. He has to explain. He has to let them know he's innocent. And there's been a terrible, terrible mistake.
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30:01 Matt Forde? Friday 21st of November, 12pm. Queen's Road Police Station, Birmingham.
30:09 Matt Forde? George Reed leafs through Paddy Hill's paperwork. It really is quite the rap sheet. Seventeen previous convictions, mostly brawling, some burglary.
30:19 Alice Levine? You don't hear so much about brawling these days, do you?
30:22 Matt Forde? Mullet's came back, flares came back, Oasis came back, it's time to bring back brawling.
30:27 Alice Levine? Good, honest, bar brawling.
30:30 Matt Forde? You know, on a Friday and Saturday night, a brawl was part of going out in Nottingham.
30:34 Alice Levine? That was, people looked forward to it. You'd had a hard week at work, you got a lot of pent-up frustration with your boss, with your coworkers, but you knew you could have a lovely, cathartic punch-up once you arrived at the pub.
30:50 Matt Forde? Paddy even did a 13-month stretch inside recently for stabbing three bouncers in a nightclub.
30:55 Alice Levine? Bloody hell.
30:57 Matt Forde? Reed is in no doubt that Paddy is one of the killers he's looking for. But previous convictions can't sway a jury, and he can't leave it to the forensics evidence alone, it's too risky.
31:09 Alice Levine? I'm glad that Reed's acknowledging the limitations of 1970s forensics, because I was about to. Can we trust the little bit of cotton wool in a tube that Dr. Zeus, or whatever he was called, did earlier?
31:22 Matt Forde? It is mad before CCTV and before DNA testing, which are both fallible as well, that anyone was ever convicted. You just have to go, "Look, he just looks a bit guilty, doesn't he?"
31:33 Alice Levine? It's mad. And also, Dr. Zeus was messing around with all that green eggs and ham, could that have not affected the test tube?
31:42 Matt Forde? What Reed needs is a confession, something clear-cut. But right now, Paddy is refusing to talk. Reed tosses the file down onto his desk, leans back in his chair, when a familiar voice on the radio catches his ear. It's the Home Secretary, Roy Jenkins. Reed bolts upright, he adjusts the dial, fixing his attention on the news report. It is clear the IRA is intensifying its campaign of indiscriminate murder, and we are resolved to use all available resources to protect the innocent public. Reed feels the blood drain from his face. He's already got enough pressure from his direct superiors on this.
32:26 Speaker 09 To that end, I am considering emergency legislation to assist in this task.
32:33 Matt Forde? Reed slams his fist on the table. If Westminster starts wading into this, he's going to have Home Office goons interfering in every aspect of his investigation.
32:43 Alice Levine? We've invested budget in hiring many goons, which will be placed on this project. Why do goons always ruin everything?
32:51 Matt Forde? Also, do goons realise they're goons?
32:53 Alice Levine? Are you hired as a goon?
32:55 Matt Forde? That Ford had goon?
33:02 Matt Forde? He refuses to let that happen. Reed grabs up his notepad, heads back to the interview rooms. Paddy Hill might not be talking, but that doesn't mean the other five won't. One of them is bound to crack, and he's going to start with the youngest, Billy Power.
33:32 Matt Forde? Pushing open the door to the sound of shrieking, Reed walks into interview room C. There he finds two of his officers pinning Billy down by his wrists and ankles, while a third squeezes his testicles.
33:44 Alice Levine? I was not ready for that.
33:46 Matt Forde? Surely testicle squeezing is against the Geneva Convention?
33:49 Alice Levine? And it would be sort of awkward and, dare I say, slightly funny to talk about it when you establish that legislation, but worth it.
33:58 Matt Forde? Oh, it's horrible, Alice. Bloody horrible.
34:01 Alice Levine? When done wrong.
34:02 Matt Forde? Oh, God. When done right, it's not great.
34:08 Matt Forde? Leave them the hell alone. That's my general view.
34:12 Alice Levine? Out of sight, out of mind. Leave them be.
34:14 Matt Forde? They're such a silly part of the body, really. They really should be on the inside, because how have we not evolved to the point where testicles can just be tucked up inside like every other gland?
34:27 Alice Levine? Okay, this is a family show. It's getting too sexy now.
34:34 Matt Forde? Reed smirks to himself. "Jesus Christ, what is that smell?" He holds his sleeve up to his nose. "That's the suspect, sir. He's, er, soiled himself."
34:46 Alice Levine? "God, this is horrible."
34:48 Matt Forde? He grimaces. "Well, I put a window or something on fucking chewing the air. Come on, put him down. Sit him up."
34:59 Matt Forde? Reed takes a seat at the table, as his officers throw Billy down on the chair opposite. He looks him over. His quivering, bloodshot eyes. His jerking, ragged breaths. He's a wreck. Racked with guilt and remorse, no doubt, at the weight of his crimes.
35:17 Alice Levine? "All your officers have just abused him, and he's reeling from it?"
35:22 Matt Forde? And that stench. If this kid really has crapped himself, he's obviously terrified.
35:30 Matt Forde? And that terror is precisely what Reed needs to make him talk.
35:39 Matt Forde? Thirty seconds later. Billy Power's body blazes with pain. All night, he has been starved, sleep deprived, screamed at, spat on, threatened with having his balls ripped off, kicked, punched, chained to a chair. Billy looks across at the shabby, plainclothes officer opposite. Takes in his soft, graying hair, his pudgy uncle posture. "Hello, Billy. I'm Detective Reed. I've come to have a little chat."
36:12 Matt Forde? Billy stares ahead, unmoved. "Did you get anything to eat this morning?" His stomach growls at the thought of food, but he remains unflinching. "Watson, fetch our friend Billy here a bit of breakfast." Reed gives a sympathetic smile, takes out a pack of Benson and Hedges.
36:34 Matt Forde? Smoke.
36:36 Matt Forde? Billy hesitates, then shakily takes one from the packet, lets Reed light it. He takes a deep inhale. His insides burn, but he feels himself start to calm. And what about a phone call? You get one of those? Billy shakes his head as an image of his wife and children flash across his mind. Nora and the girls are in safe hands.
37:01 Alice Levine? Oh god, don't love that.
37:04 Matt Forde? Billy freezes, a shiver shooting down his spine. Sorry, what did you say? His eyes widen, as Reed smiled as too. What do you mean? What have you done to them? Where are they? His chest starts fluttering faster with every second Reed stays silent. Relax, they're at home. I sent some men round to... Pay them a visit, this morning.
37:32 Matt Forde? Panic surges through him. Billy feels his body jerk. You fucking leave my family alone! He bucks wildly in his chair, trying to tear the handcuffs from his wrists, as Reed lights a cigarette.
37:46 Matt Forde? Ooh, I don't think you'd like me to do that, Billy mate.
37:51 Matt Forde? There's an angry mob on your doorstep, and my men are currently the only thing stopping a petrol bomb from going right through your front door. Reed leans forward, blowing smoke in his face.
38:04 Matt Forde? Though you'd better start showing a bit of fucking grace, alright. Billy squeezes his eyes shut, falling into a fit of convulsive sobs. You need to start talking, Billy boy, before I stand my men down and let nature take its course.
38:22 Alice Levine? This is about the time I'd really like him to use that call for a lawyer.
38:27 Matt Forde? Billy's skull pounds with panic, a frantic feeling crawling all over his body, until he hears a thud on the table in front of him. Squinting through tears, he sees something being pushed towards him. A guard unclicks his cuffs. Billy wipes his bleary eyes, and sees what's being placed before him.
38:49 Matt Forde? A confession form, with a blank signature line running across the bottom. A knot forms in his gut, pulsing quizzily as Reed hands him a pen.
39:02 Matt Forde? You tell me what I need to know, and all of this ends.
39:08 Matt Forde? Billy looks down at the form, and feels the floor falling away from under him.
39:14 Matt Forde? It's up to you, Billy. What's it gonna be?
39:32 Matt Forde? 2pm, Reed's office. Reed takes the final bite of his corned beef sandwich, and looks up at his pinboard with pride.
39:41 Alice Levine? I mean, corned beef, grim, no?
39:43 Matt Forde? On its own, but you stick it in between two slices of white bread, bit of tomato, bit of onion, bit of cheese. Elevated.
39:52 Alice Levine? Okay, I mean, I don't eat meat, but I imagine it's got very low meat content, so I could probably try it.
39:57 Matt Forde? Yeah, it's mainly corn, so it's a compromise with your people.
40:01 Alice Levine? Our culture's married.
40:02 Matt Forde? Look, we're prepared to eat vegetables. Why don't you meet us halfway and...
40:05 Alice Levine? And eat a bit of eyeball and bone.
40:09 Matt Forde? He's got Billy Power's confession in his hand. He smiles. He can finally start putting this case together. Wiping his fingers on his trousers, he takes up his mugshot of Paddy Hill. Pins him to the centre of the board, under the word "Bomb Maker". Then runs a string to a photo of the Mulberry Bush.
40:31 Matt Forde? He takes a slug of whisky from his hip flask, then takes up Billy's photo. Pins him to the left of Paddy, under the word "Planter". And he's about to run a string to the Mulberry Bush, when two officers come barging into his office. Sir, Johnny Walker's cracked! Great work, lads. Get it here. Reed takes the confession, skims the six loose pages, nods approvingly. He needed some assistance, sir, but he got there in the end. Reed smirks. This is proper police work.
41:07 Alice Levine? Do you think he really believes that? Do you think you're so deep in the investigation and so afraid that something like this is going to happen again, that any progress, despite your methodology, you feel is good?
41:22 Matt Forde? The ends justify the means. They know this guy's a wrong 'un, so even if he didn't do this, they are still taking a dangerous person off the streets. And the more I say this, the more I begin to agree with it. And I am now worried about how I would be as a police officer.
41:40 Alice Levine? So am I.
41:43 Matt Forde? His brow pinches as his eyes fall upon one sentence. He looks up to his pinboard, then back down to the page.
41:53 Matt Forde? White. Johnny says he was with Paddy, in the tavern.
42:00 Matt Forde? The officer shrug. That's what he said, sir. Reed looks to his pinboard. Billy says he was with Paddy, in the mulberry bush, planting the bomb.
42:13 Matt Forde? He plucks at his chin with an agitated thumb. How could Paddy be in both pubs at once?
42:18 Alice Levine? He couldn't. Come on, Reed, Jesus.
42:23 Matt Forde? Are you sure you've got this right? Johnny's saying they planted three bombs. Reed stares up at his pinboard. That's not what Billy said either. Reed dismisses his officers, places the two confessions side by side, runs a finger along them as he reads them both, line for line.
42:45 Matt Forde? None of the details match up.
42:48 Matt Forde? A sickly feeling starts to gurgle inside him as Reed wonders. Could it be these aren't actually his men?
42:56 Matt Forde? Reed picks up a pen, puts it to his lips as he thinks, opens his drawer back up and takes another gulp of whiskey. He runs through the evidence in his mind. A gang of Irish brummies apprehended trying to flee the country hours after the bombs went off. All headed for the funeral of a known IRA terrorist. Forensic tests found explosives all over Paddy Hill's hands. And now the others are signing confessions. It has to be them.
43:26 Alice Levine? I get where he's coming from. It doesn't sound good. But actually, it's like he's trying to force together two jigsaw pieces that don't fit.
43:34 Matt Forde? Yes, and you can't outfeel but with the police, that the hunch is overrated, that they just say, "I've just got a gut feeling about this." And his guts are full of corned beef and whiskey. So God knows what that's doing to his decision making. His teeth clamp down on the lid of his pen, and he pulls. "Sorry to bother you, sir." Reed jolts up, sending the pen flying. "Fucking hell, lad. Home Office on the phone. They're wanting an update." He stares down at the transcripts, those tiny, niggling details dancing in front of his eyes. They'd be so simple to iron out if he could just be left alone for a few minutes. He picks his pen back up.
44:17 Matt Forde? "Tell them I'll call back. Just got a few loose ends to tidy up here."
44:27 Matt Forde? Two hours later, the holding cells. Paddy winces in pain as he touches a finger to the cigarette burn on his thigh. It's not closing up, and if it's not treated soon, it's going to get infected.
44:41 Alice Levine? I'm not suggesting beating people up isn't brutal, but cigarette burns, that's just so evil.
44:50 Matt Forde? Paddy thrashes his bruised fist against the cell bars. "Hello, I need to see a doctor." He doesn't know how long he's been in isolation, yelling for aid. Finally, a guard hoes into view. "Jesus Christ, all right. I'll be glad to see the fucking back of you, you moaning Mick bastard." The guard yanked Paddy out of his cell, drags him along the corridor, and out into the courtyard.
45:18 Matt Forde? The daylight blinds him as he's bundled towards a prison van and slung headfirst into the back of it. He clatters into the van's caged wall and slumps to the floor.
45:30 Matt Forde? Picking himself up, Paddy recoils as he discovers he's not alone. Five huge silhouettes surround him, staring down from the van's benches. And even when his eyes adjust and their faces finally come into focus, it still takes Paddy a second to realise who they are.
45:49 Matt Forde? They're all so battered and bruised, he barely recognises his friends. Jesus, lads. But no one answers. They all sit in haunted silence.
46:02 Matt Forde? Until Billy Power bursts into a full-body sob.
46:06 Speaker 05 It's all my fault. I'm so sorry.
46:10 Matt Forde? Paddy turns to face him.
46:12 Speaker 05 They threatened my girls. I had no choice.
46:18 Matt Forde? Paddy blinks in confusion. Billy?
46:23 Matt Forde? What do you mean? What did you do?
46:28 Matt Forde? Billy takes a big, juddering breath.
46:34 Speaker 05 I signed a confession.
46:37 Matt Forde? Paddy's heart stops dead in his chest. A confession? What for? You didn't do nothing. Billy bursts back into tears. Paddy throws his head back, smacking it against the cage, letting out a roar of fury. You fucking idiot, Billy. Why would you sign your own fucking death warrant? A voice from the opposite corner pipes up. Come on now, Paddy. Go easy on the lad.
47:07 Matt Forde? It wasn't just him.
47:10 Matt Forde? Paddy turns to Richard McElkenny. You what? They set their fucking dogs on me, snapping and biting all over. Wouldn't call them off till I signed a confession. So I signed one and all. Paddy's jaw falls open. Then Johnny speaks. He put a fucking gun to my head, threw a blanket over me, pressed the muzzle right up to my eyeball, clicked the trigger. I didn't know what else to do.
47:37 Matt Forde? Paddy watches as Johnny breaks down in tears. He can't believe his ears. Paddy feels himself sink into the bench in despair. He thought he'd taken the brunt of the beatings, but he realizes he got off lightly. The coppers were going to stop at nothing until they pinned this on them. And it hits him. It was a stitch up right from the jump. Paddy looks around again at his friends. Their bruised eyes, their bust lips, their bites and burns. And slowly, it begins to dawn on him that they might yet have a way out of this mess. He doesn't need a doctor to examine his injuries. He needs a lawyer.
48:30 Speaker 10 For decades, two legendary brands fought for the hearts of American bikers. Indian Motorcycle and Harley-Davidson. The battle looked a lot like Coke versus Pepsi or Ford versus Chevy, but tastes changed and Indian didn't adapt fast enough. The icon all but died. Then came the Con Men, the Dreamers, a string of spectacular failures that kept Indian in the grave, until one company finally got it right. This is the story of an improbable revival and the reignition of an old rivalry. Hey, I'm David Brown, the host of the podcast Business Wars. And every season, we bring you the true stories behind the companies that shape our world. Indian's new owners are going all in, but an existential crisis looms. Can Indian and Harley recruit enough younger riders to survive?
49:13 Speaker 10 Make sure to follow Business Wars wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge all episodes of Business Wars early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts.
49:25 Speaker 11 Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat and Fish are back for a whole lot of wonderfully whimsical fun. What happens when you switch bodies with your best friend? Discover a caveman frozen in ice? Or make an alien so angry he threatens to destroy the planet? Find out in season two of the Cat in the Hat podcast. The cat and fish are traveling the world in the great catastrophic cacophony cruiser, meeting genies, clown professors, cave trolls and extraordinary characters along the way. With clever wordplay, imaginative rhymes, original songs and stories celebrating curiosity, empathy and creative problem solving, every adventure brings something new to discover.
50:08 Speaker 11 It's a world of wonderful words, big imaginations and plenty of heart for the whole family. Listen to the Cat in the Hat podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge all 20 episodes early and ad free right now.
50:34 Matt Forde? Two days later, 10 a.m. Winston Green Prison, visitors' room.
50:41 Matt Forde? Paddy Hill slams his palms down on the table. He doesn't know if this lawyer is stupid or deliberately obtuse, but he's boiling Paddy's piss either way.
50:51 Alice Levine? Have you ever had boiling piss? Awful.
50:53 Matt Forde? Well, it kills the germs, but it ruins the kettle.
50:58 Matt Forde? Paddy's due up in court tomorrow to hear his charges being read. All he wants is for his friends' false confessions to be ruled inadmissible. But this lawyer he's been given refuses to listen. I'm telling you, their confessions don't stack up. The boys told me what they said. It doesn't make any sense.
51:18 Matt Forde? Well, you say that, but I'm looking at them here and I really don't see as many inconsistencies as you say. Paddy clenches his jaw. The paperwork the police submitted shows absolutely no record of you sustaining any injuries during your time in custody.
51:33 Alice Levine? Funny that, isn't it?
51:35 Matt Forde? Paddy lunges up, sending his chair skidding backwards. No record? What in God's name do you think this is? He pulls up his shirt to reveal his battered chest, a mosaic of mottled yellow and purple bruises covering his torso. Mr. Hill, please. This is hardly appropriate.
51:58 Alice Levine? Sorry not to save your blushes. Who is this guy?
52:02 Matt Forde? Paddy drops his shirt, slumps back down. I admit, it's unfortunate that some of the police paperwork appears to be missing or incomplete. The police really should have documented your injuries prior to arrest, but... You think I had these injuries prior to being fucking detained? But his lawyer continues. Look, I fail to see how any of this helps you. There is still the matter of the forensics evidence and the initial attempt to flee the police at the port. And the fact you're on a train from Birmingham at... Paddy wants to scream, to smash this guy's briefcase over his head. It's all lies, don't you see?
52:47 Matt Forde? He stands again, paces the room, runs his hands through his hair, grabbing fistfuls in frustration.
52:54 Matt Forde? They are stitching us up, whether it's with forced confessions or a dodgy test tube, I don't know, but they are making this up. Mr. Hill, my job is to represent your interests. I will put forward whatever defence you decide, but I have a professional duty to advise you on all possible outcomes. He leans forward. Taking together the circumstantial evidence, the forensics, and the fact that four of your co-defendants signed confessions directly implicating you, confessions that appear to align, you may find your best course of action is to enter a guilty plea.
53:34 Alice Levine? This is crazy.
53:37 Matt Forde? Paddy kicks the wall. A guilty plea is exactly what the police want, exactly why they've brutalised him and his friends. But Paddy is not going to give them the satisfaction. He is going to go to court and he is going to fight these charges with every last scrap of his soul.
54:04 Matt Forde? The next morning, 10am, Birmingham Magistrates Court.
54:11 Matt Forde? Paddy's head hangs low as the prison van pulls up outside the courthouse. But he is filled with grim determination. It's been four days since he was first apprehended by police at Heatham Port. Every moment since has been filled with the worst physical and psychological torture he could imagine. All designed to break him. But they failed. He's here, and he's ready to have his moment in court. The van doors open, light and sound flood his senses. And as Paddy slowly begins to make sense of the scene unfolding on the street outside, his stomach plummets.
54:52 Matt Forde? Swarming the stairs of the courthouse is an angry mob of protesters waving placards.
54:58 Speaker 03 Hang the bastards! Death to the IRA! Lynch the sixth!
55:06 Alice Levine? We can hear it here, the public want justice done. And you would hope that a police investigation and all of the professionals that work on that would not be swayed by that pressure. But it seems here to be definitely influencing the outcome.
55:21 Matt Forde? Yes, and you can understand why the public at that time is so emotional about it and so desperate for justice. And they will have placed their trust in the authorities to get the right people and to put them on trial. So at this point, the mob is absolutely convinced of these men's guilt.
55:41 Matt Forde? Fists begin to hammer against the van wall, the metal clanging loudly in Paddy's ears. The crowd riled, demanding vengeance. Paddy is rough-handled up into the courthouse, besieged on all sides by shouting and spitting. He glances over his shoulder to see Billy being dragged up the steps, already looking utterly defeated. And it gets no better as he's hauled into court.
56:10 Matt Forde? Paddy's eyes bulge as he takes in the room packed to capacity. Journalists crammed in the press box, scowling as they take down every detail. Punters filling the rows of seats, disgust and contempt in their eyes. Paddy ignores them all and turns to face the bench, towards Lady Justice, ready to throw himself at her feet. But as his eyes train up, he sees the judge already enthroned in his seat, his face grey and thunderous, his voice betraying no compassion as he calls the room to order. Paddy watches a clerk stand, holding the thick indictment.
56:54 Matt Forde? In turn, she asks each of his friends to identify themselves, and then turns to him. Are you Patrick Joseph Hill of King Standing, Birmingham? Paddy clasps his hands in front of him, feels his voice waver. I am. You stand charged with 21 counts of murder, the first charge on November 21st of this year. Paddy's head feels light as the clerk continues, the courtroom swaying before him. He drifts in and out of the charges, the 7th, the 12th, the 20th, the words hypnotizing him into a growing state of despair.
57:36 Matt Forde? And as she reads the 21st and final charge of murder, the last spark of optimism in him is snuffed out. Everyone is here, the entire establishment, the police, the media, the judiciary, even the public. He looks over at the ashen faces of his friends, and it dawns on Paddy, it's over. The fix is in. He has been set up to take the fall for the biggest mass murder in British history. And right now, short of a miracle, there's nothing to stop him and his mates spending the rest of their lives in jail.
58:32 Speaker 12 There are books that change how you see the world, and there are books that change how you see yourself. In a new podcast series, A Great Book with Barack Obama, President Obama sits down with a series of surprising and sharp guests to explore six books that have shaped his life and perspective on the world. From Song of Solomon and The Fire Next Time, to All the Pretty Horses and Gilead, the president is joined by guests like Tom Hanks and Ta-Nehisi Coates to reflect on how these timeless stories shaped his thinking on everything from fatherhood to leadership, and discover together what they tell us about the world we live in and the world we want to create.
59:15 Speaker 12 Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of A Great Book with Barack Obama ad-free right now, plus access each audiobook discussed in the series. Download the Audible app today.
59:31 Speaker 09 Hey, I'm Cassie DePecce, the host of Against the Odds from Audible Originals. In each episode, we share thrilling true stories of survival, putting you in the shoes of the people who lived to tell the tale. In our latest series, we track the story of Hugh Glass, the real-life revenant that inspired the 2015 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. In 1823, Glass was brutally mauled by a grizzly bear in present-day South Dakota and left for dead. His survival depended on trekking through 350 miles of wilderness alone with grave injuries. But he was driven by his thirst for revenge. Follow Against the Odds wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge all episodes of Against the Odds early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts.
1:00:21 Matt Forde? From Wondery and Samistat Audio, this is the first episode in our series The Birmingham Six.
1:00:26 Alice Levine? A quick note about our dialogue: in most cases, we can't know exactly what was said, but all of our dramatizations are based on historical research.
1:00:34 Matt Forde? If you'd like to know more about this story, you can read Error of Judgment: The Truth About the Birmingham Bombings by Chris Mullin. You can watch the World in Action series on the Birmingham bombings, or Who Bombed Birmingham from Grenada TV. And you can listen to the pub bombings from the BBC.
1:00:50 Alice Levine? Thank you to Gerry Moore, Peter Kelly, Rhoda Cunningham and Pauline Brown for suggesting we cover the Birmingham Six. If there's a story you want to be given the British Scandal treatment, then email us, [email protected] .
1:01:02 Matt Forde? British Scandal is hosted by me, Matt Ford.
1:01:05 Alice Levine? And me, Alice Levine.
1:01:06 Matt Forde? Written by Chris Lockery. Additional writing by Alice Levine and Matt Ford. Our story editor is James Maniac. Sound design by Dan King. Our engineer is Jai Williams. For Samistat, our producer is Redsey Bernard. Our assistant producer is Louise Mason. Our senior producers are Joe Sykes and Dasha Lisitzsina. For Wondery, our senior producer is Theodora LaLoudis and our senior managing producer is Rachel Sibley. Executive producers for Wondery are Estelle Doyle, Chris Bourne and Marshall Louie.
1:01:53 Speaker 13 Hi, I'm Kenya Barris.
1:01:54 Speaker 04 And I'm Malcolm Gladwell. We're back for season two of our Audible original podcast, The Unusual Suspects.
1:02:00 Speaker 13 We're bringing you fresh, new conversations from guests like Anderson Paak, David Zedares, Ryan Howard, Rich Roll, Amy Sheldon and many more.
1:02:06 Speaker 04 Sign up for a free trial to Audible to listen to season two in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts.
1:02:13 Speaker 14 I'm Gemma Whelan, and in the new season of The Spy Who, we tell the story of the original femme fatale, the spy who was Mata Hari. A famous dancer turned World War I secret agent, accused of seducing Allied officers to uncover their plans. But was she a temptress or a scapegoat for French failures? Follow The Spy Who now, wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also listen to the full season of The Spy Who Was Mata Hari early and ad-free on Audible.
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