Justice for Hillsborough families marks another huge milestone
30 June 2017
Following the recent announcement of prosecution decisions in the Hillsborough case, Garden Court North Chambers’ Pete Weatherby QC, who lead the team representing 22 of the bereaved families at the Hillsborough inquest, took part in a series of media interviews to provide his views on what urgent steps need to be taken next.
The key points from Pete’s interviews are:
- The announcement of prosecution decisions in the Hillsborough case marks another milestone in the long road to justice for a most dignified and tenacious group of victims who have been so outrageously treated for nearly three decades;
- The 22 families request the urgent publication of the Bishop of Liverpool’s long-awaited legacy report, which was delivered to Theresa May and the Home Secretary two weeks ago. The report was requested by Theresa May the day after the inquest concluded;
- The families hope that the Bishop will strongly endorse their draft Hillsborough Law – the Public Authorities (Accountability) Bill 2017 – which has already been before the House of Commons on an unopposed first reading;
- The Hillsborough Law requires public authorities, public officials and public-facing private entities to come clean about their role in disasters. It requires them to make full disclosure, to admit failures and to cooperate fully with police and other investigations, inquiries and inquests. It provides a “toolbox” for victims to enforce these duties through the courts and backstop criminal offences where there is wilful failure to discharge the duty. It supports ordinary public officials standing up to senior officers and managers in refusing to go along with obfuscation and cover-ups. And importantly it provides a level playing field for victims and families to obtain legal advice and representation of the same standing as the public authorities involved;
- The families want the Hillsborough Law to go forward with cross-party support if at all possible before another group of victims suffer the same issues and indignities as they did; and
- What was needed at Hillsborough and what is now needed at Grenfell is a swift, transparent and wide inquiry, with the full involvement of the bereaved and the survivors, to urgently determine what needs to be done to prevent it happening again, how it was allowed to happen and who is responsible.
You can view and listen to these interviews by clicking on the links below:
- Independent comment piece;
- BBC News;
- 5 Live Drive (go to 1:12:05); and
- BBC Radio Merseyside (go to 01.44).
