A man involved in the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings made a “full confession” to the murders in an interview with a journalist, the Old Bailey has heard.

Chris Mullin, 74, who investigated the atrocity, is fighting a police bid to force him to reveal his sources.

Mullin, also a former MP and minister, is challenging an application by West Midlands Police to require him to disclose source material dating back to his investigation in 1985 and 1986.