Hillsborough Law would level scales of justice, say mayors

The two mayors are hosting the Hillsborough Law Now event with bereaved families and other politicians

Renewed calls have been made for a Hillsborough Law to ensure fairer treatment for bereaved families.

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said the government needed to "level the scales of justice".

It comes after a TV drama telling the story of Anne Williams, whose son died in the disaster, aired this week.

The government said it would engage with bereaved families and "carefully consider the points of learning".

Ninety-seven Liverpool fans died as a result of the crush at the FA Cup semi-final match at Sheffield Wednesday's ground on 15 April 1989.

The two mayors are hosting the Hillsborough Law Now event later, together with bereaved families and other politicians.

They are calling for changes to be made to the justice system to prevent others going through what the Hillsborough families experienced.

It will focus on Bishop James Jones's findings about the experiences of the families, which were detailed in his 2017 report.

The study contained 25 "essential" learning points, including the creation of a charter for families bereaved through public tragedy, a statutory duty of candour on all police officers and "proper participation" of bereaved families at inquests.

Anne Williams (left) was played by Maxine Peake in an ITV drama about her life

New inquests, which concluded in 2016, found the victims were unlawfully killed.

But match commander David Duckenfield was cleared of gross negligence manslaughter in 2019 and a trial of two retired police officers and a former force solicitor, who were accused of perverting the course of justice, collapsed last year after a judge ruled there was no case to answer.

The four-part ITV docu-drama Anne starred Maxine Peake as Mrs Williams, whose 15-year-old son Kevin died in the disaster.

Mrs Williams dedicated her life to uncovering what happened to the teenager but died in 2013, before the start of the new inquests.

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Mr Burnham, then a Labour MP, pushed for the new inquests after he was heckled as he made a speech at Anfield on the 20th anniversary of the disaster in 2009.

"The appalling treatment of the Hillsborough families at the hands of the legal system shames our nation," he said.

"We need to level up the scales of justice in favour of bereaved families so that the truth is established at the first time of asking.

"We must spare families the secondary trauma that is often inflicted by cruel treatment at the hands of the system."

Ninety-seven Liverpool fans died as a result of the disaster on 15 April 1989

Mr Rotheram, who was at Hillsborough, said what happened at and in the aftermath of the disaster was a "national disgrace" that "cannot be allowed to happen again".

"Levelling up cannot only be about big spending announcements and shiny infrastructure projects," he said.

"It should also about righting long-term, structural injustices. And there are few bigger than this. Levelling the scales of justice is the very essence of levelling up.

"We need a Hillsborough Law now to ensure that ordinary people have a fair chance at getting the justice they deserve."

In June, the government said it would "always consider opportunities to review the law" after MP Maria Eagle told parliament the collapse of Hillsborough trials was a "catastrophic failure" of the legal system.

A government spokeswoman said the Home Office had been working with "the relevant government departments and organisations to carefully consider the points of learning made by Bishop James Jones".

"Our focus now is engaging with the Hillsborough families and publishing the government's overarching response to the Bishop's report in due course," she said.

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