Everything that happened in today's Hillsborough Law livestream
A campaign for Hillsborough Law begins today
Last updated 7th Jan 2022
The Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, and Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, have hosted a livestreamed event via Facebook to start the #HillsboroughLawNow campaign.
The city leaders are supporting Hillsborough families, that are calling for a change in the law so nobody ever needs to fight for the truth about how their loved ones died.
A proposed Hillsborough Law would make it illegal for public officials to lie or mislead about their actions while on duty and also give bereaved families better access to financial support for legal proceedings.
Family members of the 97, political leaders, both present and former, and Liverpool sports stars all spoke during todays livestream.
What happened in todays livestream?
The Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, opened the livestream, claiming that "the fact not a single person has been held accountable for those actions is a stain on the judicial system".
Margaret Aspinall, former chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, spoke next.
Aspinall branded the supporters as "heroes", saying she was proud of how they acted on that day.
Aspinall thanked former Prime Minister Theresa May for her efforts helping the families and fulfilling promises that were made to her.
Former Prime Minster Theresa May also spoke during today's event.
Theresa May added: "I've been struck in the case of Hillsborough, but in other cases too, how the way in which the state in its various forms acts to defend itself from blame. The very bodies that we expect to defend and support the public seek instead to protect themselves. Families are all too often denied access to the truth, and with that often denied access to justice.
"The families who suffered on that fateful day in April 1989 have suffered year after year since then, but sadly they're not the first families to go through this nor will they be the last. Very sadly, there may very well be other disasters in the future, and unless we act the experience of the Hillsborough families and others will be repeated."
Charlotte Hennessey was just six when her dad died in the disaster, she says finding out more than two decades later he was one of 41 fans who 'had the potential to survive' on the day was an injustice.
Charlotte said: "That was like losing him all over again. It's taken me a very long time to come to terms with that. He signalled for help, he opened his eyes and he was tended to by a Police officer and taken to a gym where it was thought he'd get help, but he was just left.
"That's ultimately how my dad died".
Other families members of the 97 spoke today, including Steve Kelly who lost his brother at Hillsborough.
Sir Kenny Dalglish was amongst those who spoke during the livestream.
Speaking in the Facebook livestream, the Liverpool legend said: "To take on the Hillsborough Law now would be a great credit and a fine tribute to the families and what they have endured throughout their lives.
"We treasure them as supporters, and during the time after Hillsborough we became their supporters."
Former Everton player Peter Reid questioned why lies were portrayed across the mainstream media following the event.
Theresa May wasn't the only former Prime Minister speaking today, as Gordon Brown made an apperance.
Labour MP for Garston & Halewood, Maria Eagle, questioned why it took 27 years for an unlawful verdict despite there being an inquiry finding that the Police were to blame four months after the disaster.
Labour Member of Parliament for Liverpool West Derby, Ian Byrne, made calls for the story of Hillsborough to be added to the national curriculum to ensure it's never forgotten.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, emphasised how big of a day today has been, and labelled the call for a Hillsborough law as "deniable".
Maxine Peake, an actor who portrayed Anne Williams in ITV's series Anne, which documenting a mother's fight for truth after her son was killed in the crush on Leppings Lane in 1989, spoke today.
Peake said: "Events like Hillsborough, Grenfell and Manchester Arena will continue to happen. If we come together we can make that change."
"This tries to rebalance the scales of justice"
During the livestream, Steve Rotherham, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: "There's a real issue with people who go through these traumatic circumstances but then find the weight of the establishment is levelled against them. What the Hillsborough law is intending to do is to give people fairness in the judicial system that should be a right.
"Huge injustices that have been going on for generations, look back at nuclear test veterans, contaminated blood or more recently Grenfell; these things show there is an imbalance.
"This tries to rebalance the scales of justice and give families that go through similar circumstances, where a catastrophe happens and the state tries to defend itself, at least give them a fair crack at the whip to get justice for those people."
Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Maxine Peake, who played campaigner Anne Williams on TV, are among those launching the campaign this afternoon along with senior political figures and bereaved families of tragedies past and present.
Charlotte told Northsound 1 News it's beyond belief that lessons are still not being learned from Hillsborough :
"It's so infuriating in 2022 that there is no law that protects people who lose loved ones in this way. Public authorities are allowed to manipulate evidence for public inquries and they are allowed to leave parts out. That's not justice, that's not giving closure, that's not truth".