Families of the 21 victims murdered in the Birmingham Pub Bombings have accused the Government of a major snub over a national memorial day for victims of the worst UK terrorist atrocities.

Campaign group Justice for the 21 say they were not invited or informed about the Government's first National Day for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism, held last month, with Prime Minister Andy Burnham among the speakers.

They described the snub as 'disgusting' but also said it was 'not surprising'. It was part of a 'pattern' of seeking to silence the Birmingham bombings' families and undermine their existence and memory, said Julie Hambleton, co founder of Justice for the 21.

"I'm shaking with anger about this," said Hambleton, whose sister Maxine died in the blasts.

Successive governments had been keen to bury the legacy of the bombings and the injustices that occurred before and after, because failings 'went to the heart of government and the intelligence operations' of the time and since, she believed.

This had included the wrongful conviction of the Birmingham Six, a failure to properly investigate and convict the real terrorists and a failure to allow an independent public inquiry to examine whether the security services had failed in its duty to prevent the attack and safeguard citizens.

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