A campaigning daily has called for the families of a terrorist attack on its patch to be made Theresa May’s “first priority” as Primer Minister.

Mrs May took over the role after David Cameron tendered his resignation to the Queen at Buckingham Palace yesterday afternoon.

The Birmingham Mail has called on Mrs May to ensure the families of the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings have their bid for legal funding for new inquests relating to the attack to be dealt with immediately.

Last month, the Mail scored a victory in getting the inquests reopened after more than 40 years after they were first adjourned.

The Provisional IRA was blamed but never accepted responsibility for the atrocity, while six men convicted of the mass killings were cleared in 1991 having been declared innocent of the crime and named as victims of a miscarriage of justice after a botched investigation by West Midlands Police.

The Mail published an open letter from the families to Mrs May in yesterday’s edition, pictured below.

Graeme Brown, editor for agenda and business at the Mail, said: “Mrs May has a lot on her hands right now – but nothing more important than this.

“The families of the 21 people killed in the Birmingham pub bombings have waited for an unconscionable amount of time – and despite their dogged determination opening doors the authorities would like closed, they are still waiting.

“The Birmingham Mail will never stop campaigning for the families seeking justice and until that day this will be the first of many front pages devoted to it.”