Families’ burning injustice
‘Lessons must be learned after Hillsborough’
BEREAVED families suffer “burning injustice” after public disasters, a report prompted by the Hillsborough football tragedy has found.
The paper said authorities must learn lessons over their attitudes to victims, such as those from the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed at least 80 people in London in June.
Bishop James Jones, the former Bishop of Liverpool, said in his 117-page report: “The way in which families bereaved through public tragedy are treated by those in authority is in itself a burning injustice which must be addressed.
“The experience of the Hillsborough families demonstrates the need for a substantial change in the culture of public bodies.”
The bishop’s report, backed by the Home Office, was welcomed by families of the 96 victims of the Hillsborough disaster yesterday.
He called for a “Hillsborough Law”, making it a criminal offence for public officials to take part in a cover up and a “duty of candour” for police officers to help inquiries.
Margaret Aspinall, chairwoman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, said: “I urge the Government to read this report in full and learn from the experiences our poor families have gone through for so many years. Nobody should have to go through that torture and struggle as we have.” Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the bishop’s report “raises important points”.