Writing exclusively in the ECHO, the legendary campaigner has called for accountability on the day Hillsborough Law is debated in parliament
Hillsborough campaigner Margaret Aspinall
Hillsborough campaigner Margaret Aspinall has called on The S*n to answer for its abuse
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Hillsborough campaigner Margaret Aspinall said justice won't be done until The S*n newspaper is made to answer for its abuses. Margaret, whose son James died in the 1989 football disaster, has called for accountability on the historic day the Hillsborough Law is debated in parliament.
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.
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.
The bill, which will be put before parliament this afternoon, giving MPs the first meaningful opportunity to debate its contents, has been described as the most important change to how the nation's justice system treats ordinary citizens since 1998's Human Rights Act.
The Hillsborough families faced shameful smears about their dead loved ones after they 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 resulted in fresh proceedings which overturned the initial inquest verdicts and they have been the driving force in moulding the new law in their families' name.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer promised to deliver a Hillsborough Law in his election-winning manifesto. He then pledged to have the bill on the statute books in time for the anniversary of the disaster in April this year. But it was delayed as discussions between government officials and campaigners about how the bill would look intensified over the summer.
But in September this year an agreement was reached and the Hillsborough families travelled to London to meet Sir Keir to mark the momentous day when the PM kept his promise. And now, as Parliament prepares to debate the landmark bill, Margaret - one of the driving forces behind the campaign - said the last great power in Britain that believes it is above the law is aspects of the media.
Writing exclusively in the ECHO, Margaret has called for The S*n, the newspaper which spread vile lies about the Hillsborough victims, to be held again for its actions.
Today Hillsborough Law is finally debated in Parliament. But justice won’t be done until The S*n, too, is made to answer for its abuses.
It has been 36 years since the Hillsborough disaster, when 96 – now 97 – people were unlawfully killed due to the negligence of South Yorkshire Police. My son James was among them. All that he and so many others did was go to see a football match.
Every day since then, those of us who lost someone have stood together to fight tirelessly for justice. We have faced every kind of obstacle in that time, and overcome every single one. Today we can be proud of what we have achieved.
This law won’t bring back those we have lost. But it will mean that next time the state fails ordinary people, and the next time the authorities try to cover up for their mistakes and wrongdoing, the victims and the bereaved will have the law on their side.
The Hillsborough Law will help put an end to state cover-ups everywhere, by demanding honesty and candour of our public officials. It’s no secret that it has taken longer than we would have liked to get here. But for the prime minister, it is a promise kept.
So far as the police and public authorities are concerned, they will have nowhere to hide. But there is one piece of the jigsaw is remains missing. That is the last great power in this country which behaves as if it is above the law: parts of the press.
The S*n were South Yorkshire Police’s willing accomplices in the cover-up. They spread disgusting lies about the behaviour of the fans, and blamed those who died for the disaster. This was not only abusive and cowardly – attacking us while we grieved – but it also promoted the cover-up. It sold a lie to the public. It made our fight for justice harder and longer.
The S*n obviously thought we wouldn’t fight back. They were wrong about that. But while this law will finally end lies by the state, it can’t stop lies by parts of the press. People sometimes protest that The S*n have apologised. But they haven’t – not sincerely.
As I explained to the Leveson Inquiry in 2012, The S*n tried to bribe the families with an offer to build a new sports field in Liverpool if the families promised to publicly accept their apology. We rejected their grubby deal.
Then The S*n aggressively lobbied to shut down Leveson 2, which I was expected to give evidence at, and which would investigate how the newspaper conspired with the police to spread their lies and cover up the truth. It would investigate who was responsible, and hold them to account.
The people who run that newspaper don’t care about or have any remorse over what happened. They just didn’t expect the City of Liverpool to stand up for itself, and they are panicking because, for almost forty years now, our city won’t buy its newspaper and that has cost them a lot of money.
Today is an important milestone and nothing should take away from that. It is extraordinary how far we have come. But justice won’t be done until The S*n, too, is called to answer for its abuses, and its role in the cover-up.
The prime minister promised us that he would see this through. It is time for him to deliver that justice, and use this opportunity to build on today’s vital achievement to make Leveson 2 a reality, and ensure the media is held to account for its role in state failures and cover-ups.