Garden Court North stands in solidarity with Hillsborough victims and families on 36th anniversary
15 April 2025
Fans pay tribute to the 97 Hillsborough victims before Liverpool FC’s Premier League match against West Ham United on 13 April, 2025, at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool. Credit: Liverpool FC.
On the 36th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, Garden Court North Chambers expresses support and solidarity for the bereaved families of the 97 Liverpool FC fans who were unlawfully killed.
A minute’s silence will be held across Liverpool today (15 April, 2025) at 3:06pm, the exact time at which the fateful FA Cup semi-final in 1989 was stopped. A bell will toll 97 times in tribute to each victim, followed by an instrumental version of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. The remembrance will be led by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool Richard Kemp, who will be joined by Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool Council.
Similar tributes took place on Sunday (13 April) before Liverpool’s Premier League fixture against West Ham United at Anfield, where both teams laid wreaths at the stadium’s Hillsborough Memorial.
Time for a Duty of Candour
Garden Court North’s Pete Weatherby KC represented families in the Hillsborough inquests, which found that fans were entirely blameless despite false smears by The Sun and other newspapers – and denial by the authorities.
Pete has been key in drafting the provisions for Hillsborough Law, which provide a legal Duty of Candour to circumvent institutional denial and defensiveness, fostering shorter, cheaper and more efficient inquiries. The Bill was originally introduced into Parliament in 2017 by then MP Andy Burnham as the Public Authority (Accountability) Bill, but was halted amid the General Election.
In 2022, Prime Minister Keir Starmer publicly promised to re-introduce Hillsborough Law to Parliament before today’s anniversary.
In a statement on X earlier today, Starmer said: “I promised to bring a Hillsborough Law before Parliament, with a legal duty of candour for public authorities and public servants, and criminal sanctions for anyone who fails to comply. I will deliver on that promise.
After decades of injustice, we must get this legislation right. We must make sure it achieves what the people of Liverpool have spent the past thirty-six years fighting for.”
The Government has missed this pledge, and reports continue to caution that its new draft provisions omit key parts of the original bill.
At INQUEST’s recent ‘Family Listening Day’, bereaved families shared their demand that the Government keeps to its promise and does not replace Hillsborough Law with a different draft bill which changes little.
Margaret Aspinall, who lost her 18-year-old son James at Hillsborough, said a “watered down” version of the law would be “no use” and must be introduced “in all its entirety”.
Garden Court North calls for the enactment of a Hillsborough Law with an undiluted Duty of Candour to prevent justice in future being impeded for those affected by state-related disasters, from Hillsborough to Covid-19, Post Office Horizon, and Grenfell.
Additional media
Liverpool Echo – Liverpool to fall silent to mark 36th anniversary of Hillsborough disaster
Liverpool FC – Anfield pays respects ahead of 36th anniversary of Hillsborough
ITVX – PM to miss own deadline for Hillsborough Law set for today’s 36th anniversary
BBC – Margaret Aspinall’s plea to PM over Hillsborough law
For further information, please contact Alex Blair, Communications Manager at Garden Court North Chambers: ablair@gcnchambers.co.uk
