How we achieved justice for Hillsborough

Between them, Theresa May, Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham have kept their word

This time last year I was preparing to speak at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, where I introduced Keir Starmer. I say preparing – Starmer’s team wanted me to give them notes of what I was going to say. But I don’t do notes. I speak how I feel, and I know then I’m speaking from the heart, and that it’s the truth. Thankfully, they still let me do it.

I was nervous, because at the conference you’re speaking to a room full of people who hold all the power. But I was very proud even to be asked to do it. Looking back on it now, people ask me the same question: do you really think Keir Starmer wanted the Hillsborough Law? I have no doubt about it.

When I first met Starmer, I told him: if you ever do come into power, I’d like you to promise me that you will bring in the Hillsborough Law in its entirety. He stood up, he hugged me and he said: “I promise you, Margaret, if I come into power, that will be one of the first things I do.” As far as I’m concerned, he’s kept his promise.

I first met Andy Burnham in 2009, shortly before the gathering at Anfield to mark the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. He’d already been working in the background for the families, but we’d not spoken before. The mayor of Liverpool, Steve Rotheram, phoned me up to say that Andy had a letter from the then prime minister, Gordon Brown, to read at the memorial service. Andy then phoned me himself and said: “I’ve got a letter here to read. Now it’s entirely up to you: do you want me to give it to you to read out, or shall I?”

It was a very difficult decision. The Hillsborough families had very little trust in politicians and the authorities because of what we’d been through with the court cases, having to get the original inquest verdict corrected, and we’d taken a vote to agree that no MP would ever speak or do a reading at a memorial service. But after Andy rang me, I thought: well, we’re not getting far, so it’s worth a try. I couldn’t tell the families he was going to do it beforehand because I knew it would create a lot of problems; they would have been against it. It was a hard choice for me to make, and I knew it was on my head.

While Andy was speaking, someone shouted out “Justice for the 96”, and suddenly the whole stadium of about 30,000 people started chanting it to him. I really admired Andy for standing there, for listening and taking it on board. After he spoke, he sat down next to me and said: “I will take this message back to Westminster.” Within weeks, the Family Support Group was meeting with the Ministry of Justice. He’d done his job, and he’s been doing it ever since. It was Andy who first introduced the Hillsborough Bill into parliament as a private members’ bill in 2017. What I admired more than anything was that he kept his word. I hope he keeps his word now, with what he’s said he’s going to do to help people.

I’ve met quite a few prime ministers now – Andy Burnham, Keir Starmer, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May and, at the beginning of all this, Margaret Thatcher. It wasn’t always easy, but I’m really proud I’ve done that.

Theresa May was absolutely amazing. I went to see her when she was home secretary, for the simple reason that the second Hillsborough inquest was coming up and the families could no longer afford to keep paying for lawyers; we’d run out of money. May promised me she’d get us help, and she did.

David Cameron once said a terrible thing, likening our continuing search for answers to a “blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn’t there”. When the court finally overturned the first inquest in 2016, ruling that the 96 victims were unlawfully killed and the Liverpool fans were exonerated, I gave a speech in parliament. As the MPs and lords were filing out afterwards, I said to some of them: “When you see Mr Cameron, will you tell him that I found the black cat?”

It was a fantastic day when the Hillsborough Law finally passed the House of Commons in July, more than 37 years after my son, James, died. It’s still got to pass the House of Lords, but they know that if it doesn’t pass, or it’s watered down, we will not accept it. This is not about the Hillsborough families. This is about the ordinary people of this country.

It has been difficult. I’m nearly 80 now. My children were only small when Hillsborough happened – now my grandchildren have grown up, never mind my children. My granddaughter always used to say: “Nan, when will we be able to see you?” But they understand now why I kept going. And it wasn’t just me – it was Andy, Steve, Bishop James Jones, who chaired the independent inquiry, Jimmy McGovern, who so bravely wrote a drama about the disaster, and that changed things. It has been a long fight, but so many people got us here. I wasn’t alone.

People say to me: was it worth it – your time, your energy, your commitment? It absolutely was. I say to them: the truth costs nothing. Lies and cover-ups have cost this country and its taxpayers millions. And my voice is my son’s voice. I am speaking now for my son and what he’d want.

[Further reading: Andy Burnham seizes control]