Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram has written to every MP in the UK urging them to back a Hillsborough Law.
Joined by his friend and colleague, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, the pair have called on all 650 members of Parliament to urge action ahead of the 33rd anniversary of the disaster in which 97 Liverpool fans were unlawfully killed. In their letter, the Mayors ask MPs for two commitments: a personal commitment to the principle of a “comprehensive” Hillsborough Law, and to call on the Government to commit to introducing it in the forthcoming Queen’s Speech.
The letter comes after the Hillsborough Law Now event held in January, where bereaved families and former Prime Ministers Gordon Brown and Theresa May came together to call for amendments to the justice system to prevent a repeat of the experience felt by the Hillsborough families.
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In the letter, the Mayors said the “story of Hillsborough goes well beyond football rivalries or party politics. It is a story of immense loss, decades-long cover-up and the comprehensive failure of the British legal system to deliver truth, justice and accountability for bereaved families.”
It added that “nobody has been held accountable for the unlawful killing of so many” and the disaster was “not an exception to the norm.” Mayors Rotheram and Burnham said there have been a sheer number of families bereaved by major failures of the British state past and present who are having to fight for truth and justice.”
In the letter they cited the families of those who took part in the first British nuclear test overseas and those fighting for answers around the tainted blood scandal. It said: “For families bereaved by more recent events, such Grenfell and the Manchester Arena attack, the parallels between their experiences and those of the Hillsborough families are already clear.
“The reason why this pattern keeps on repeating is simple: the scales of justice are weighed against ordinary families and in favour of public authorities who hold all the power.” The pair said that the Government’s levelling up agenda must be about “more than just large-scale infrastructure projects” and should be “about levelling up those scales of justice so that the truth is established at the first opportunity, allowing justice and accountability to follow.”
It was for this reason, the Mayors said, that “the need for a Hillsborough Law is clear.” They used the letter to say that the fact that five years had passed without a response from the Government to Bishop James Jones’ report into Hillsborough was “disrespectful” and a Bill to introduce the law should be brought forward by the Government “without delay with cross-party support and full Parliamentary time.”
They added: “The Hillsborough families will most probably never see true justice done. But they can at least prevent others in future experiencing what they did through a powerful Hillsborough Law.”
The emotional letter closed with a plea from both men. It said: “If the truth was told at the first time of asking, so many people would be spared years of unnecessary anguish and trauma.
“We hope we can count on your support for the inclusion the Hillsborough Law in the forthcoming Queen’s Speech. It would mean so much to the Hillsborough families and thousands of others still fighting for justice.”
