Police move to ban reporters from Birmingham Six journalist hearing

West Midlands police want notes of former MP Chris Mullin, thought to hold identity of surviving pub bomber

West Midlands police have asked a judge to exclude reporters from a hearing in which they will attempt to force a journalist and former MP who exposed the Birmingham Six's wrongful conviction to reveal his source material.

The force have applied for an order under the Terrorism Act 2000 compelling Chris Mullin to hand over material, including notebooks, from his 1985-86 investigation into the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings, which killed 21 people and injured more than 200.