Tariq Jahan, from Winson Green, is meeting police minister Mike Penning alongside local MP Shabana Mahmood (Lab, Ladywood) to explain that he was still waiting for an explanation of how his son died.
His 21-year-old son Haroon and friends Shazad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31, died after they were struck by a car in the early hours of August 10, 2011. They had been trying to defend local businesses as a wave of rioting and looting swept the country.
Following the deaths, Mr Jahan issued a public appeal for calm – and was widely praised for reducing tensions and possibly preventing further violence. But nobody has ever been convicted as a result of the deaths. In 2012, eight men were cleared of murder in a trial which was briefly halted because of problems with the police investigation.
And last year a report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission criticised elements of West Midlands Police’s inquiry into the deaths. It ruled that one police officer had acted recklessly in offering immunity to witnesses at a public meeting. Ms Mahmood said a public inquiry was now the only way to ensure the truth came out.
