Report is 15 years in making
Hillsborough Memorial at Anfield
Hillsborough Memorial at Anfield(Image: PA)
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A report into the actions of police during and after the 1989 Hillsborough Stadium disaster in which 97 Liverpool fans were unlawfully killed will be published today.
The Independent Office for Police Misconduct has been investigating the actions of South Yorkshire Police related to the disaster since 2012. The investigation is the largest independent probe into the actions of police ever carried out in England and Wales. Families of Hillsborough victims were told in March that no officers would face misconduct proceedings because legislation in place at the time of the tragedy did not require a duty of candour for officers.
In September, a historic new Hillsborough Law was laid before Parliament after decades of campaigning by the families.
The new law, officially the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, will enforce a legally binding duty of candour on public officials.
For many years after the 1989 disaster, South Yorkshire Police falsely claimed ticketless Liverpool fans contributed to the crush at Sheffield Wednesday's ground, which led to the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans.
The false narrative was comprehensively debunked by the findings of the Hillsborough Independent Panel in 2012.
Fresh inquests in 2016 found those who died at Hillsborough were unlawfully killed after a catalogue of failings by both the police and ambulance services.
In September, the ECHO travelled with Hillsborough family members - Margaret Aspinall, Charlotte Hennessy, Steve Kelly and Sue Roberts - as they met with Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street on the day the new Hillsborough Law was officially laid in Parliament.
The legislation includes duty of candour, forcing public officials to act with honesty and integrity or face criminal sanctions.
The bill will also see a major reform of legal aid, to make sure that ordinary people appearing at inquests and inquiries are provided with the same level of legal representation as the public bodies they often come up against.
Last week, the ECHO reported the Hillsborough Law is to be made "stronger" as it moves through parliament. The new law will also mean that families attending inquests and inquiries will have access to the same level of legal representation as the authorities and organisations they are going up against.
An amendment put forward by Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones seeks to add local authorities and councils applicable to the new duty of candour.
She says this addition came after campaigning by the Hillsborough families and Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram.