Hillsborough: Mayors ask MPs to back law to support disaster families

Two mayors have written to MPs urging them to back a Hillsborough Law ahead of the disaster's 33rd anniversary.

Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester mayors Steve Rotheram and Andy Burnham have renewed calls for fairer treatment for bereaved families.

They are calling for changes to the justice system to prevent others going through the "unnecessary trauma" which the Hillsborough families endured.

In the letter, they said the scales of justice needed to be "levelled up".

Ninety-seven Liverpool fans were killed as a result of a crush at the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield during the FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest on 15 April 1989.

It remains the UK's worst sporting disaster with a jury at an inquest ruling 27 years later that they were unlawfully killed.

A Hillsborough Law would introduce a statutory duty of candour on public servants during all forms of public inquiry and criminal investigation.

It also aims to ensure proper participation of bereaved families at inquests through publicly-funded legal representation, and the provision of a public advocate to act for families of the deceased after major incidents.

In the letter to MPs, Mr Rotheram and Mr Burnham 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," they added.

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.

"For families bereaved by more recent events, such as Grenfell and the Manchester Arena attack, the parallels between their experiences and those of the Hillsborough families are already clear," the mayors added.

"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 mayors urged MPs to make 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.

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