Police chief 'not too sad' at McGuinness's death
The police chief who oversaw the casualty bureau on the night of the Birmingham pub bombings says he finds it hard to be too sad at the death of Martin McGuinness.
Bridgnorth-born Mike Collins, who was on duty on the night of the terror attacks which claimed 21 lives, says it would be difficult for any police officer who had to deal with the IRA atrocities of the 1970s and 80s to feel too much sympathy for the former IRA leader.
But he also acknowledges the work that Mr McGuinness did in later life to bring peace to Northern Ireland.
Mr Collins, now 85, was a superintendent with the newly formed West Midland Police at the time of the bombing in November 1974.
He remembers it as being unlike anything else he had to deal with in his police career, and vividly recalls having to deal with anxious relatives of people who had been in the pub on the night.
"It was very sad, we got sisters ringing, saying 'My sister was in the Mulberry Bush, do you know where she is?', you had parents wondering about their young sons and daughters who were out for the night," says Mr Collins, who now lives in Merry Hill, Wolverhampton.
"Martin McGuinness was a pretty nasty character in those days, although it does seem that he came to see the light in his later years.
"Personally, I won't be too sad about his death, and I don't think too many policemen who had to deal with the Northern Ireland situation at that time would be too sad about it either."
But he says that it should be recognised that he played an important role in bringing an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Mr Collins says the force was totally unprepared for the scale of the attack on the night.
"It would all be very different now, if something like that happened today the police would be expecting it, but in those days they were weren't expecting it at all," he says.
“A plan had been devised for major emergencies to ensure particular hospitals did not get overwhelmed.
"Taxi drivers were doing their best to help the injured by taking casualties direct to hospital. Understandably they knew nothing of the emergency plan and so took them to whichever hospital they wanted.
“As a result there was complete confusion and hospitals did get overwhelmed. Nobody was properly prepared because nothing on this scale had happened before. Obviously things are far better organised nowadays but that night it came down to basic police work with officers going from hospital to hospital to discover how many casualties they had received and record the details.
"It was at least 24 hours before we had a proper idea of the full scope of the disaster."
