City councillors will this week decide whether to pass a motion to commemorate the Hillsborough Disaster with a specialist education programme and a dedicated 'Hillsborough Day' in schools governed by the local education authority.
A motion proposed by Everton ward councillor Ian Byrne will go to a vote on in the council chamber this Wednesday.
Mr Byrne, who is MP for Liverpool West Derby, is leading on the ' The Real Truth Legacy Project ' which includes an annual Hillsborough Day' in schools.
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Mr Byrne is hopeful the council motion will be passed this week, given the widespread support the idea has attracted.
Speaking to the ECHO, Mr Byrne - who survived the disaster on the Leppings Lane when he was 16 - said: "The ball starts rolling on Wednesday and hopefully this crucial motion goes through.
"We will then be looking to roll this out across the Liverpool City Region - we are hopeful because the other five councils in the combined authority are looking to pass the motion through their respective chambers too.
"I am hopeful we will have every local authority in the Liverpool City Region on board as The Real Truth Legacy Project has been well-received so far.
"The idea is that this project forms part of a lasting legacy, along with the Hillsborough Law, and the education part is key.
"For many of the families and survivors, the education element is really important - so that makes it key for me.
"What we are doing on the ground in the Liverpool City Region will show other authorities across the country how to commemorate 'Hillsborough Day' and how to approach teaching school children about the disaster and the subsequent cover-up and campaign for justice.
"This is the first stage and then we hope to see this rolled out on a national level. Once it is up and running in the city region, our aim is to have it embedded in the National Curriculum."
Mr Byrne added that a curriculum pack is already being worked on by Liverpool City Council.
Mr Byrne added: "The campaign is moving quite quickly and in the right direction. Hopefully we will have the entire city region commemorating a dedicated Hillsborough Day and then seek to roll it out across the country as part of the national curriculum.
"There will be no excuse then for people not to know the real truth."
The campaign to educate everyone about Hillsborough seeks to ensure that current and future generations learn the truth about the disaster.
It also seeks to ensure that schoolchildren have access to a definitive account of the disaster and the subsequent cover-up - both of which were publicly acknowledged and apologised for in Parliament by then Prime Minister David Cameron in 2012, following the publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel (HIP) report.
The HIP report was published 10 years ago and was followed by fresh inquests in 2016 which found that the Hillsborough victims had been unlawfully killed, after hearing two years' of evidence.
The 2016 inquests explicitly found that the behaviour of Liverpool fans on the day of the tragedy did not contribute to the disaster.
Mr Byrne said the false narrative about Hillsborough "must end" and he believes that education is the key to this.
The ECHO has seen Cllr Byrne's motion that will be submitted to Liverpool City Council on Wednesday and it reads:
Liverpool City Council commends survivors and the families of the ninety-seven fans who lost their lives as a result of the Hillsborough disaster for their three-decade campaign for justice.
Council also notes that Kevin Sampson’s recent drama for ITV, Anne - considered a masterpiece by many - has highlighted once again the fact that, despite the ninety- seven having been unlawfully killed, to date no individuals or organisations have been held accountable for their deaths.
Council further notes that the impact of the campaign of lies, smears and propaganda orchestrated by South Yorkshire Police in 1989 and promoted by willing politicians and media continues to this day, with far too many members of the public even now parroting discredited lies about the behaviour of Liverpool fans in attendance at Hillsborough on 15 April 1989.
It is not surprising to council that many families of the ninety-seven and Hillsborough survivors have expressed despair at this continuation of lies about Hillsborough.
Liverpool City Council therefore undertakes to support the ‘Real Truth Legacy Project’ led by Ian Byrne in conjunction with many Hillsborough families and survivors. This is a campaign which seeks to ensure that current and future generations learn the truth about Hillsborough, and to ensure that schoolchildren in Liverpool City Region initially have access to a definitive account of the disaster and the subsequent cover-up.
Council hereby notes its support for a key element of The Real Truth Legacy Project which is to have education about Hillsborough added to the National Curriculum, including a dedicated “Hillsborough Day” in the Liverpool City Region, to take place on the nearest Friday to the anniversary of the tragedy on 15th April each year.
The Hillsborough Day would see every Liverpool City Region primary and secondary school taking part in a special assembly to mark the anniversary and to learn more about the disaster, the cover-up and the fight for justice through dedicated teaching resource packs made available to every school in the city region by local education leads.
For the sake of past and future generations, this is something Liverpool City Council feels it must get behind and calls on all councils in the Liverpool City Region and beyond to add their support to the Real Truth Legacy Project.
