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Bereaved families, former prime ministers and a host of high-profile public figures have come together for a 'Hillsborough Law Now' event broadcast live on Facebook.
This comes after the powerful ITV drama "Anne", which tells the story of Anne Williams' fight for justice for her son Kevin.
Gordon Brown and Theresa May have thrown their weight behind the campaign for a “Hillsborough law”, designed to rebalance the justice system and ensure fairer treatment for bereaved families.
The former prime ministers joined speakers from academia, sport, journalism and the arts at an event on Friday afternoon to express support for measures aimed at preventing others from going through the fight for justice faced by the families of the tragedy’s victims.
Some of the most powerful testimonies came from people who lost relatives not just at Hillsborough, but also at Grenfell Tower, the Manchester Arena bombing, TruthAboutZane and other major tragedies and scandals.
May said what happened at Hillsborough, “the death of 97 Liverpool fans failed by the state”, was tragedy enough for the families. “But what followed was injustice heaped on injustice. Years of beating their heads against a brick wall of government and the legal and judicial system which added untold pain and suffering.”
Brown said the Hillsborough law was needed now. “No delays. No prevarications. No excuses to secure justice for you [bereaved families] and everyone who in future may face the same challenges.
“No one. No one should ever have to go through what Hillsborough families have had to live through. No one should be denied the truth, as you were denied the truth. No one should have had to wait so long to be heard, as you waited so long. No one should be kept in the dark by bureaucratic indifference and deceitful lies, like your families.”
One strand of the new law would be a statutory duty of candour on all public servants during public inquiries and criminal investigations. “That means no cover-ups, no concealments, no closing of ranks,” said Brown.
Margaret Aspinall's son James was 18 when he was killed at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final, one of 97 people who died from the injuries they sustained that day.
'Hillsborough cover-up shows system is corrupt'
"I think this Hillsborough Law is so important," she said. "It won't be any good now to the families, obviously - our journey is more or less done. But it's going to be important for other people. The system is so unjust and unfair, I feel like we're back in the dark ages."
Mrs Aspinall says the police cover-up after Hillsborough shows the system is corrupt, and that's why a new law is needed.
The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham is leading calls for a statutory duty of candour on all police officers, which would mean they are legally required to tell the truth during all forms of public inquiry.
"We've been living in a country where bereaved families often come up against public bodies that close ranks that create false narratives," he said. "It's just not a level playing field, and so you see this pattern repeat itself and repeat itself."
His calls for reform are based on a report in 2017 reflecting on the Hillsborough families' experiences. The recommendations include creating a charter for relatives bereaved through public tragedy, providing publicly-funded legal representation for families at inquests, and appointing a public advocate to act for them.
The Labour politician Lord Falconer, a former secretary of state for justice, said he had always trusted the law. “But the law deserves absolutely no trust in relation to what happened in the Hillsborough case. The extraordinary thing about it is that people kept going for 33 years … They did not get justice.
“Truth came out, but no justice. The law, in effect, damaged and destroyed people it was supposed to protect and it utterly ravaged and vilified families who were fighting for justice.”
Most of the speakers, who included the Liverpool legend Sir Kenny Dalglish, appeared virtually from their homes and offices. A small number spoke in person at the event, held at the People’s History Museum in Manchester, co-hosted by the mayor of Liverpool, Steve Rotheram, and the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham.
Burnham asked why the galleries were so packed with artefacts telling stories of ordinary people struggling to fight for rights, fairness and justice. “It’s because when things go wrong in this country, the fight that people face is too long and too hard. When things go wrong, the authorities close ranks. They blame victims. They sometimes create false narratives that can be very hard to shift.”
He said access to justice was still linked to your class, your accent and whether you have access to a social connection, and praised Brown and May for their roles in helping to bring truth for the Hillsborough families.
Zane's daddy Kye said, "Despite the truth being visible the inquest acted to systematically strip Zane of his human rights, using a false lens of plausible deniability. If they can do this to the 97 and their families, just imagine what they can do to one family walking alone.
Hillsborough makes clear the truth is imperative in order that others can be protected and justice be served. The patronising disposition, and disgrace of unaccountable power, is neither confined to Hillsborough, or the past. So we call on the Government to commit to bring forward a comprehensive Hillsborough Law without further delay.
For Zane you must ask yourselves what kind of a country do we live in where there is no investigation into Hydrogen Cyanide, a weapon of mass destruction, in a neighbourhood?"
In an emotional ending Zane's mummy Nicole said, "Zane is not just a lie on a death certificate, No child was ever loved more and we will die fighting if we have to.
Please help us, do not let history repeat itself. I do not want to die before we undo the lies that dishonour him. And he can finally rest in peace. Zane did not die accidentally; he was unlawfully killed. The evidence is there. Zane died, the authorities lied."
This comes after the powerful ITV drama "Anne", which tells the story of Anne Williams' fight for justice for her son Kevin.
Gordon Brown and Theresa May have thrown their weight behind the campaign for a “Hillsborough law”, designed to rebalance the justice system and ensure fairer treatment for bereaved families.
The former prime ministers joined speakers from academia, sport, journalism and the arts at an event on Friday afternoon to express support for measures aimed at preventing others from going through the fight for justice faced by the families of the tragedy’s victims.
Some of the most powerful testimonies came from people who lost relatives not just at Hillsborough, but also at Grenfell Tower, the Manchester Arena bombing, TruthAboutZane and other major tragedies and scandals.
May said what happened at Hillsborough, “the death of 97 Liverpool fans failed by the state”, was tragedy enough for the families. “But what followed was injustice heaped on injustice. Years of beating their heads against a brick wall of government and the legal and judicial system which added untold pain and suffering.”
Brown said the Hillsborough law was needed now. “No delays. No prevarications. No excuses to secure justice for you [bereaved families] and everyone who in future may face the same challenges.
“No one. No one should ever have to go through what Hillsborough families have had to live through. No one should be denied the truth, as you were denied the truth. No one should have had to wait so long to be heard, as you waited so long. No one should be kept in the dark by bureaucratic indifference and deceitful lies, like your families.”
One strand of the new law would be a statutory duty of candour on all public servants during public inquiries and criminal investigations. “That means no cover-ups, no concealments, no closing of ranks,” said Brown.
Margaret Aspinall's son James was 18 when he was killed at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final, one of 97 people who died from the injuries they sustained that day.
'Hillsborough cover-up shows system is corrupt'
"I think this Hillsborough Law is so important," she said. "It won't be any good now to the families, obviously - our journey is more or less done. But it's going to be important for other people. The system is so unjust and unfair, I feel like we're back in the dark ages."
Mrs Aspinall says the police cover-up after Hillsborough shows the system is corrupt, and that's why a new law is needed.
The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham is leading calls for a statutory duty of candour on all police officers, which would mean they are legally required to tell the truth during all forms of public inquiry.
"We've been living in a country where bereaved families often come up against public bodies that close ranks that create false narratives," he said. "It's just not a level playing field, and so you see this pattern repeat itself and repeat itself."
His calls for reform are based on a report in 2017 reflecting on the Hillsborough families' experiences. The recommendations include creating a charter for relatives bereaved through public tragedy, providing publicly-funded legal representation for families at inquests, and appointing a public advocate to act for them.
The Labour politician Lord Falconer, a former secretary of state for justice, said he had always trusted the law. “But the law deserves absolutely no trust in relation to what happened in the Hillsborough case. The extraordinary thing about it is that people kept going for 33 years … They did not get justice.
“Truth came out, but no justice. The law, in effect, damaged and destroyed people it was supposed to protect and it utterly ravaged and vilified families who were fighting for justice.”
Most of the speakers, who included the Liverpool legend Sir Kenny Dalglish, appeared virtually from their homes and offices. A small number spoke in person at the event, held at the People’s History Museum in Manchester, co-hosted by the mayor of Liverpool, Steve Rotheram, and the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham.
Burnham asked why the galleries were so packed with artefacts telling stories of ordinary people struggling to fight for rights, fairness and justice. “It’s because when things go wrong in this country, the fight that people face is too long and too hard. When things go wrong, the authorities close ranks. They blame victims. They sometimes create false narratives that can be very hard to shift.”
He said access to justice was still linked to your class, your accent and whether you have access to a social connection, and praised Brown and May for their roles in helping to bring truth for the Hillsborough families.
Zane's daddy Kye said, "Despite the truth being visible the inquest acted to systematically strip Zane of his human rights, using a false lens of plausible deniability. If they can do this to the 97 and their families, just imagine what they can do to one family walking alone.
Hillsborough makes clear the truth is imperative in order that others can be protected and justice be served. The patronising disposition, and disgrace of unaccountable power, is neither confined to Hillsborough, or the past. So we call on the Government to commit to bring forward a comprehensive Hillsborough Law without further delay.
For Zane you must ask yourselves what kind of a country do we live in where there is no investigation into Hydrogen Cyanide, a weapon of mass destruction, in a neighbourhood?"
In an emotional ending Zane's mummy Nicole said, "Zane is not just a lie on a death certificate, No child was ever loved more and we will die fighting if we have to.
Please help us, do not let history repeat itself. I do not want to die before we undo the lies that dishonour him. And he can finally rest in peace. Zane did not die accidentally; he was unlawfully killed. The evidence is there. Zane died, the authorities lied."
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Andy Burnham said he remembered meeting Zane's mummy in Parliament and said "we were with you then, we are with you now and we will be with you always!"
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