After decades of campaigning and years of negotiations, a "seismic" change in the law is now happening in a huge and historic tribute to the 97
The Hillsborough memorial at Anfield
The Hillsborough memorial at Anfield (Image: Getty Images)
Decades of tireless campaigning by the families of the 97 Liverpool fans who died as a result of the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster will result in a "seismic" change in the law. Tomorrow (Tuesday September 15) a Hillsborough Law Bill will be laid in Parliament on a huge and historic day.
The landmark legislation will hold public officials and authorities accountable for their actions with a new professional and legal duty of candour - meaning they must act with honesty and integrity at all times or face criminal sanctions.
The Hillsborough Law bill will also see the largest expansion of legal aid for a decade for bereaved families - providing non-means tested help and support for inquests, with the costs covered by the public body represented.
A legal duty will also be placed on public bodies to ensure their spending is always proportionate, stopping the state from hiding behind unjustifiably large legal teams at inquests and making sure both sides are on a fair and equal footing.
There will also be new guidance on how state bodies and their representatives should participate at inquests, aiming to ensure the state conducts itself with "openness and honesty" with the sole purpose of helping the coroner establish the facts of the case.
And there will be a new offence created for misleading the public, with criminal sanctions for the most serious breaches.
It is hoped this significant package of measures will ensure the tragic injustices of the past and the institutional failures that followed them, will never be repeated. The bill was today described as the most important change to how the nation's justice system treats ordinary citizens since the Human Rights Act was introduced in 1998.
The Hillsborough families faced shameful lies and smears about their deceased family members for decades after their loved ones were unlawfully killed in a crush at Hillsborough Stadium after travelling to watch Liverpool take on Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup Semi-final on April 15, 1989.
Their tireless campaigning eventually resulted in fresh inquests finding their family members were unlawfully killed, which overturned the original inquest verdict of accidental death.
Despite their relentless efforts to achieve justice for those who died, tragically no one has been held legally accountable for the devastation, with match commander David Duckinfield's trial collapsing in 2021.
But in getting a Hillsborough Law onto the statute books - the families have achieved an enormous legacy for their loved ones that should change the way this country operates and ensure no one else goes through what they have.
As well as the Hillsborough Law families, many other groups have campaigned for this legislation - including those affected by The Post Office Horizon scandal, the Grenfell fire, the infected blood scandal, nuclear test veterans and many others who have found themselves caught up in major tragedies or state-related harm.
Margaret Aspinall's son James was killed at Hillsborough
Margaret Aspinall's son James was killed at Hillsborough (Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
Family members met with Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy yesterday and a number will meet with the Prime Minister on Tuesday morning, before travelling to Parliament to watch the historic moment as the bill is laid in the House of Commons.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer promised to deliver a Hillsborough Law when he was leader of the opposition, speaking at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool in 2022 - this came after he met with Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died in the disaster.
The pledge was then placed in Labour's election-winning manifesto last year, before he repeated the promise at the conference in the city several months later.
He had pledged to have the bill on the statute books in time for the anniversary of the disaster in April this year, but this was delayed as discussions and debates between the government and campaigners continued about the provisions within the bill. Those discussions intensified across the summer and right up until the end of last week, before an agreement was finally reached.
Margaret Aspinall, who has been a driving force of the campaign, today said: "It’s been a long journey to get here. I am so grateful to the Prime Minister for fulfilling his promise to me.
“This campaign wasn’t about just us, it is about the ordinary people of this country, hopefully this law will mean no one will ever have to suffer like we did.
“This promise now was well worth waiting for, for the good of the people. We have got the Hillsborough Law!”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "I first met Margaret Aspinall as the director of public prosecutions, and found her courage, and the strength of all the Hillsborough families and survivors, utterly breathtaking. Faced with smears and lies about their loved ones, they held onto the truth and battled for decades to prove it.
“I made a promise to her, and to many others who faced terrible tragedies - incredible campaigners like Pooja Kanda and Figen Murray - that I would act so no one else would need to suffer the way they had.
"Today, I am proud to be making good on the promise I made to Margaret by bringing in the Hillsborough Law. I know nothing can ever undo the years of injustice those families have endured. But I hope it can add to the already profound legacy they have created in memory of the 97.
"Hillsborough will always remain in our national consciousness for its tragedy and disgraceful injustice. But today it can also be remembered for the way it changed our country for the better. Because with this law, we are changing the balance of power in Britain and ensuring that the State can never hide from the people it is supposed to serve.
The Prime Minister added: "Make no mistake - this is a law for the 97, but it is also a law for the sub-postmasters who suffered because of the Horizon scandal, the victims of infected blood, and those who died in the terrible Grenfell Tower fire. This is change only this government can deliver.”
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said: “I speak from personal experience when I say disasters like Hillsborough and Grenfell are tragedies our nation continues to mourn. The scars left behind sit at the heart of this Bill – and I want to pay testament to those who have campaigned so long to affect real change.
“The changes we’re making will ensure truth and justice are never concealed again and brave families never again left fighting endlessly for the truth – and anyone caught trying to do so will face the full force of the law.”
The Hillsborough memorial at Anfield
The Hillsborough memorial at Anfield (Image: Liverpool Echo)
Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram was at Hillsborough on the day of the disaster and has been a key campaigner alongside Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.
Mayor Rotheram said: "Today is a landmark moment – not just for our city, but for the whole country. A day of history making and permanent legislative change. An opportunity to enact the bill as a lasting legacy to the 97 Hillsborough victims, unlawfully killed in 1989.
“The tabling of The Hillsborough Law is the biggest victory for ordinary people campaigning and organising together in generations – and the most important change in how our justice system treats ordinary citizens - since the Human Rights Act.
“We must never forget that while it was Liverpool supporters who went to Hillsborough that day, the tragedy touched families and communities right across the country. But the same injustices had, and continue to be, a stain on our country’s reputation for fairness and justice. Until today.
"The Hillsborough families will never see true justice done for their loved ones. But because of their tenacity, dignity and refusal to be silenced, no other bereaved families will ever have to endure the same ordeal. That is their legacy – and it will stand for generations to come.
He added: “This bill is about rebalancing the scales of justice. It is a fitting tribute to the Hillsborough families’ decades-long fight, and proof of the power of ordinary people to force extraordinary change. And while Hillsborough was the catalyst, this reform could just as easily be named after Grenfell, the infected blood scandal, the Post Office scandal or a long list of other injustices.
“I want to thank the Government for listening and acting. This legislation ensures that the lessons of Hillsborough are now finally written into law – so that no other families are ever left to fight alone.”
The bill will be laid before Parliament tomorrow (Tuesday September 16).