Hillsborough families' anger at not being told of pathology review

Margaret Aspinall's 18-year-old son James died in the 1989 disaster

Relatives of Hillsborough victims have said it is "disgraceful" they were not told a review into pathology failings at the original inquest was under way.

Margaret Aspinall, whose son James died in the tragedy, said it was "appalling" she heard via the media and is calling for it to be suspended.

A review into what went wrong with the original pathology report into the deaths of the 97 victims in the 1989 disaster was announced on Wednesday.

The Home Office has yet to comment.

The stadium crush developed at the start of an FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

The original inquests, which were quashed by the High Court in 2012, heard no evidence from after 15:15 BST on the day of the disaster, 15 April, at the Hillsborough ground in Sheffield.

The review was aimed at ensuring similar mistakes were not made in the future, the Home Office said.

The review will look at how mistakes can be avoided in future

Mrs Aspinall said: "I was always under the impression that families would be informed first.

"We heard nothing about this review until we read it on media and I find that rather appalling, the families should have been told first and foremost.

"Its only polite and proper and just to inform families."

Mrs Aspinall is calling for the review to be halted until all the families agreed it should go ahead.

She continued: "We've gone through all of this for all of these years and we've had to fight every step of the way to get to the truth of Hillsborough and I just find this all rather cynical. What is going on?"

Ninety-seven Liverpool fans died after a crush at Hillsborough stadium on 15 April 1989

Metro mayor of Liverpool Steve Rotheram, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and the region's MPs are calling for the review to be suspended so a proper consultation could take place.

In a joint statement, they said: "The 'families first' approach established in the aftermath of the 2009 Hillsborough Independent Panel - and the longest coronial inquest in British legal history that followed - was set with one purpose: to ensure the experiences and treatment of families bereaved through the Hillsborough disaster would never again be repeated.

"Even after three decades of torment and injustice at the hands of the establishment, the families took that assurance forward in good faith.

"That is why it feels so incredibly thoughtless, tactless and insensitive for the Home Office to announce a review into the failures of pathology at the original Hillsborough inquests without consulting the families and loved ones of the 97 first."

The politicians said the government was yet to fully respond to Bishop James Jones's 2017 report The Patronising Disposition of Unaccountable Power, which made 25 recommendations including a review of the original pathology.

The statement said: "While justice has never been served for those who lost loved ones in that tragedy, we will not stand by and allow the establishment to conduct investigations without any recourse to the feelings of family members.

"We are therefore calling for a suspension of the proposed pathology review until proper consultation has taken place with the Hillsborough families and their consent is secured."

Steve Kelly, whose brother Michael died aged 38 in the disaster, said hearing major developments through the news was something the families are "used to".

"I heard this morning on Radio Merseyside when I woke up," he said.

However, Mr Kelly said he was "pleased" the review was going ahead.

"We fought hard for this over the years," he said.

"Going forward hopefully it will help others and help get support for the Hillsborough law."

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