Today we will see the Hillsborough Law finally tabled after decades of fighting for justice. It is a monumental day for the Hillsborough families, for our city of Liverpool and for the whole country.
I want to pay tribute to the families and friends of the 97 who were killed unlawfully in April 1989. Today they have secured a lasting legacy.
Sadly, the families will never receive true justice – but the strength, courage and determination they’ve shown over the last 36 years means they have ensured no one will have to suffer in the way they had to again. Liverpool is a city that has one another’s back, and we know all too well that an injustice to one is an injustice to all.
This law is also for the victims of the Horizon scandal, Grenfell, the Infected Blood Scandal and the many other victims of tragedies where the State has had a hand in the resulting devastation.
The purpose of the state, indeed our whole system of Government, is the service of the people – and it is the welfare of the people that should be the highest law. I am thankful that today we have finally done the right thing.
I, alongside my colleagues, will be watching the passage of this Bill closely as it makes its way through parliament. Any attempts to water it down by those who oppose it would be completely unacceptable.
Finally, justice for the 97 #YNWA
