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Papers of Chris Mullin MP: miscarriages of justice

Chris Mullin, MP for Sunderland South, transferred his papers relating to various miscarriages of justice to Hull University Archives in late 2004. 

Before entering parliament, Chris Mullin was a campaigning journalist and has a long record of support for civil liberties. He was one of the first to campaign on behalf of the Birmingham Six, who were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 for the Birmingham pub bombings.  The convictions of Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, William Power and John Walker were overturned by the Court of Appeal in 1991 after a long fight for justice.  Other cases in which Mullin was involved include the Guildford Four, the Carl Bridgewater case, and the Judith Ward case.

The papers include correspondence, statements, interviews, reports, transcripts of the trial of the Birmingham Six and of their appeal, subject files, campaign material, articles, press cuttings and videos of television coverage of the Birmingham Six and Guildford Four cases. 

Hull University Archives already holds a number of archives relating to civil liberties and human rights (including Liberty and Justice), and the deposit of Chris Mullin's papers add significantly to the resources available to researchers in the fields of history, law and politics.

For details of related archives, please see the subject guide on pressure group archives.