Hillsborough Law Decision 'Absolute Insult', Says Victim's Sister

The government's decision not to introduce a Hillsborough Law is an "absolute insult", the sister of one of the disaster victims has said.
Campaigners had called for legislation to introduce a legal "duty of candour" on public authorities and officials to tell the truth.
However, the government stopped short of introducing the law, signing a Hillsborough Charter instead.
Louise Brookes said the new charter was "not worth the paper it's written on".

Ninety-seven Liverpool fans died as a result of a crush at the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield during the club's FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest on 15 April 1989.
It remains the UK's worst sporting disaster.

"It's not only a joke, it's just an absolute insult," said Ms Brookes, whose brother Andrew died in the disaster.
"It's taken nearly seven years to respond back.
"But also this charter, it's not worth the paper it's written on. People sign up to join the police, they swear an oath."

The government said the charter would introduce a duty of candour for police officers but not for public servants.
It comes more than six years after such a charter was recommended in a report by The Right Reverend James Jones, who chaired the Hillsborough independent panel, into the experiences of the bereaved families.
  
Image caption,Louise Brookes' brother Andrew died in the Hillsborough disaster in 1989
The government apologised for the delay in signing, saying it had "taken too long, compounding the agony of the Hillsborough families and survivors".

Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died at Hillsborough, said the government's delayed response to the bishop's 2017 report was "like giving a child a packet of crisps but when you open it, there's nothing in it".
"It's as simple as that. To me that definitely does not go far enough," she said.
"We will be arguing for a Hillsborough Law, that's the most important thing to me."
Charlotte Hennessy, whose father James died in the disaster, said: "Six years down the line, for them to now come out and not adhere to that and not say that's what they're going to be putting forward, of course it's disappointing.
"It's supposed to be about lessons being learned from what we've been through."
  

In the days that followed the Hillsborough disaster, police officers were told to put the blame on "drunken, ticketless Liverpool supporters" - when in fact their deaths were caused by a series of failures by police, the ambulance service, and defects in the stadium.

The government added the new duty of candour on police officers would be required by law in England and Wales, and aimed to promote a culture of openness, honesty and transparency.
'Significant changes'
Speaking after the government's response was published, Bishop Jones, who had made the recommendation, said: "Although the government's statement falls short of the hopes of the Hillsborough families it is a serious and substantial response and rises above that given to other panels and inquiries.
"It has responded to all 25 recommendations of the report and has today introduced significant changes."
The former Bishop of Liverpool welcomed the government's decision to sign the Hillsborough Charter but added he would continue to "press for further action".
  
Image caption,Families affected by the disaster campaigned for justice for 27 years
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the Commons he was "profoundly sorry" for what the Hillsborough families had been through.
"The Hillsborough families have suffered multiple injustices: The loss of 97 lives, the blaming of the fans and the unforgiveable institutional defensiveness by public bodies," he said.
Mr Sunak said he hoped to meet the families in the new year.
'Unflinching determination'
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said the families of the 97 "deserved the thanks of our nation".

Also speaking in the Commons, he said: "I was deeply moved to hear of their experiences and by the dignity with which they shared them.
"Perhaps even more affecting was their unflinching determination to make sense of the senseless, and bring about change for others. That is the true mark of compassion."

But Elkan Abrahamson, director of Hillsborough Law Now, said: "To wait six years for a government to respond to a report about a disaster that took place 34 years ago speaks volumes.
"To deliver that response on a day when all eyes are on a former prime minister giving evidence to the Covid Inquiry only seeks to increase the cynicism felt amongst Hillsborough families and the thousands of others who would benefit from a change in the law."

He called for the full reintroduction of the Public Authority (Accountability) Bill, which was introduced by the then Labour MP for Leigh Andy Burnham, who is now the Mayor of Greater Manchester, but fell when the 2017 general election was called.
Mr Abrahamson said the government must make a duty of candour enforceable and ensure "a level playing field between public authorities and those affected by disasters and wrongdoing at inquests and inquiries".
 Source BBC merseyside