Hillsborough justice campaigners boosted by Bloody Sunday families’ success

SDLP Foyle MP Mark Durkan said the relatives of those killed in the 1989 Hillsborough football disaster were given a boost by the ideas and guidance they received on their visit to Londonderry to meet with representatives of the Bloody Sunday families (to discuss their respective campaigns for truth and justice).

The Hillsborough disaster occurred during the semi-final FA Cup tie between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest football clubs on 15 April 1989 at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England. The crush resulted in the deaths of 95 people on the day and one man dying later in hospital,[1] with a total of 766 other persons being injured. All of them were fans of Liverpool Football Club.

The Hillsborough disaster remains the deadliest stadium-related disaster in British history and one of the worst ever international football accidents.

City rivals Everton were Liverpool’s first opponents in a competitive game after the Hillsborough disaster. The game between the two sides was a league fixture on 3 May which ended in a goalless draw. Despite the fierce rivalry between the clubs, fans of both Merseyside giants have been united in the campaign for Justice for the 96.

Liverpool have never played on April 15 since the disaster which claimed the lives of 96 fans in Sheffield.

Shadow Health Secretary and Hillsborough campaigner Andy Burnham MP (who comes from Liverpool) was also in attendance after requesting that Mr Durkan arrange the meeting which would help relatives identify with each others’ experiences in the wake of a comprehensive new report on the football stadium disaster which is to be published on Wednesday 12 September 2012.

Mr Durkan said: “This was a very positive meeting. Andy Burnham and the Hillsborough Families Support Group (HFSG) have left with a lot of ideas on how the families might get more ownership and better shape on the release of the Hillsborough Independent Panel’s report in September.

“It was recognised that whilst the legal nature and parliamentary standing of the two inquiries and reports might be different, a lot of the issues of principle, media presentation, primacy of victims’ families and potential impact of the report are similar.

“The Bloody Sunday Trust and family representatives gave the Hillsborough family representatives practical insight and positive encouragement as well as emotional sympathy.

“There will also be a supportive resource for them in their preparations for the report on the 12th of September and planning for their needs on and around that day.

“The Hillsborough relatives told me that they were lifted by the ideas and guidance they received from this visit and will be calling on further advice as they navigate and negotiate their requirements and concerns over the next few weeks.

“Andy Burnham was also pleased with the visit and will be talking to other Liverpool MPs about following up on the issues and ideas they received here in Derry today.”

The Bloody Sunday campaign on behalf of the 14 people killed by members of the parachute regiment in 1972 eventually led to the Saville Inquiry being set up by then Prime Minister, Tony Blair. The inquiry found that all of the dead and wounded were unjustifiably shot by the soldiers.