ONE of the men wrongly convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings paid tribute last night to journalist Seamus Kelters who died on Wednesday saying his efforts to highlight the case helped secured their release.
The award winning journalist and author, who was the assistant editor at BBC Newsline, died following a short illness. He was aged 54.
As a co-author of Lost Lives - which examined every death caused by the Troubles - he was awarded the Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize for the promotion of peace and reconciliation in Ireland.
Mr Kelters began his career in the 1980s at The Irish News where he worked on a number of high-profile investigations - including the wrongful convictions of the Birmingham Six.
Paddy Hill recalled last night how the news reports on the plight of the Birmingham Six, who were wrongly sentenced to life imprisonment in 1976, helped bring the case into the public realm.
After years of campaigning their convictions were finally declared unsafe and quashed by the Court of Appeal in 1991.
Mr Hill said: "I can't thank Seamus enough because it was them (journalists) who got the message out to the public on the injustice.
"It was because of their work that the public got on our side. It was thanks to people like Seamus, they highlighted the case, otherwise, we would still be in prison," he said.
As well as co-authoring 'Lost Lives,' he also wrote the text for Eyewitness: Four Decades of Northern Life, a personal pictorial record of Northern Ireland life over nearly 40 years.
The book was made up of photographs by former Irish News photograph, Brendan Murphy.
In recent years, Mr Kelters produced BBC Newsline and also worked as assistant editor on the programme after joining the organisation in the early 90s.
Peter Johnston, Director of BBC NI, described the popular journalist as the "epitome of BBC journalism and a central figure in the Belfast newsroom for decades.
"He also brought his great skill and knowledge to his significant contribution to public life beyond the BBC and in advising so many young journalists," he said.
"He will be very sadly missed by us all."
Irish News editor Noel Doran last night described Mr Kelters as a "hugely respected journalist throughout his career who made an enormous impact during his time with The Irish News."
"His comprehensive investigations for the paper into issues directly related to the Troubles formed the initial basis for the ground-breaking book Lost Lives, and the importance of his dedicated long-term work on the case of the Birmingham Six was widely recognised.
"He also had many close friends within The Irish News and the thoughts of everyone at the paper are with his family".
Irish News columnist Brian Feeney, another Lost Lives co-author, described him as the "driving force" behind the book.
"He had a tremendous work rate and great determination to get the job done," he said.
"He was a first class journalist. Apart from that, he was a very fair character. As all journalists, he had his own views but he left them outside the office and studio. He was very meticulous about being compassionate and presenting a proper journalistic analysis".
Online tributes from both current and former colleagues praised the father-of-two for his "true professionalism" and "expertise" in the journalistic field.
Mr Kelters is survived by his wife Camilla and children, Brendan and Michael.
His funeral will take place tomorrow with Requiem Mass at St Michael The Archangel Church on Finaghy Road North at 1pm followed by burial at Milltown Cemetery.
