Relatives of the Birmingham pub bombings victims have said they cannot understand why they are having to fight to get funding for their legal fees.
A pre-inquest hearing into the deaths of 21 people in attacks at two pubs in 1974 opened on Monday.
Last week marked the 42nd anniversary of the tragedy. At the hearing in Birmingham, Coroner Peter Thornton QC said he supported the families’ claim for legal aid, but had no powers to grant it.
Julie Hambleton, whose sister Maxine was one of those killed, said their Belfast-based lawyers deserved financial support. In June it was confirmed that inquests into the deaths would be reopened after Coroner Louise Hunt said there was a “wealth of evidence that has still not been heard”.
The Home Office rejected a request from some of the families to pay their legal fees in September, but others have been granted legal aid. The next preliminary hearing has been set for 23 February to allow families at least six weeks to prepare the case if they receive funding.