Call for victims of disasters to get legal aid

FAMILIES of those killed in disasters such as Hillsborough or the Grenfell Tower fire should receive legal aid in their search for answers, a report recommended yesterday.

In a review commissioned by Theresa May when she was Home Secretary, former Bishop of Liverpool the Rt Rev James Jones called for publicly-funded lawyers for families at inquests involving public bodies.

He also supported the introduction of a ‘Hillsborough Law’ that would make it a criminal offence for public officials to cover up wrongdoing. Following the 1989 disaster, public bodies used taxpayers’ money to fund lawyers in a bid to pin the blame on ticketless supporters. Instead, new inquests last year found the 96 Liverpool fans had been unlawfully killed at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final.

Bishop Jones, chairman of the Hillsborough Independent Panel, also said public bodies involved should be stopped from ‘spending limitless sums’ on representation.