From the AAIB report it seems that Birmingham either did not have a lamp or at least it was not in an operational condition. Subsequent tests using one revealed that due to the location of the tower a white light could only be seen at 1 NM and a coloured light not at all.
I remember as a cadet on a AEF flight having a red flair fired up just before landing, prompting a go-around, because we had get too close to the aircraft in front, even though we had been cleared to land by the tower. That would be the obvious way to stop a landing in cases like the Birmingham incident.