PAYING RESPECTS: Tributes laid to honour the victims of the Hillsborough football stadium disaster in 1989 (Image: Mirrorpix)
By Susan Lee
The capacity of ordinary people to achieve extraordinary things never ceases to amaze, does it? In the 40 years I’ve been a journalist I’ve met folk who have displayed jaw-dropping resilience and huge courage. Everyday folk who have achieved far from everyday things in all manner of walks of life.
But none more so than the Hillsborough families. On April 15, 1989, a crush at Hillsborough Stadium led to the deaths of 97 fans who had travelled to watch Liverpool take on Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup semi-final.
I had just started a job at my local paper in Liverpool and helped to cover the story. In the intervening years I have interviewed many families of those who lost their lives that terrible day and subsequently, as well as survivors. The families faced not only terrible grief but vile lies and smears about their deceased relatives.
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Despite their relentless efforts to achieve justice for those who died, tragically no one has been held legally accountable. What they wanted was simple: the truth and justice and for nobody else to go through what they had experienced. It has taken far too long to get near to achieving that but they never gave up, never gave in.
Their tireless campaigning led to fresh inquests finding their family members were unlawfully killed, overturning the original inquest verdict of accidental death. Now, after more years of broken promises and false hope, the Hillsborough Law they fought for is here.
It is a momentous moment not just for them but for us all; a triumph of ordinary people for the common good. From now on, any public servant who withholds the truth or misleads the public risks criminal sanctions.
Victims will also, at last, be granted the legal funding to fight the state and legal duty will be placed on public bodies to ensure their spending is always proportionate, stopping the state hiding behind unjustifiably large legal teams.
No more ‘David and Goliath’ battles. No more public officials hiding behind a culture of cover-up.
The families’ achievement is historic but the victory must be bittersweet. Afterall, nothing can undo their grief or erase the decades of vile smears.
But the legacy of what the families of the 97 have achieved is a mighty one. They came together to make sure nobody else would have to face the battle they have fought, and they have won.
We can’t go back in time. History cannot be rewritten. But we can make damn sure its mistakes are not repeated.
One more thing…
There are few things I hate in life more than DIY. It’s not just the mess or the cost but the fact that every straightforward job seems to descend into disaster.
Who can forget the time a wall full of plaster came off with the wallpaper? Or when a leaking shower left cracks the size of the San Andreas Fault in the kitchen ceiling? Don’t get me started on the breached damp course. I’d never seen mushrooms behind a TV before.
So, when my husband began Googling ‘interior door handles’ I feared the worst. Light hammering began as he chip-chipped around the house.
“I feel like Michaelangelo. He’d be using tools like this to sculpt marble,” he remarked, gouging wood from the living room door.
I bet Mike didn’t leave dust all over the floor and turn the air blue after sticking a chisel through his finger, though. Still, if the husband is aiming for old master status at least he’s half way there.
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Susan Lee has been a journalist for more than 35 years writing for both national and regional titles including The Mirror and OK! Magazine and the Liverpool Echo where she was print editor. She is founder and co-presenter of the award-winning podcast The Menopod, author of The Friday Book Club Newsletter and writes a regular column for daily regional titles across the UK. You can contact her via X (formerly Twitter) @SusanLeeJourno