'Watered down' Hillsborough Law would be no use
A "watered down" version of a Hillsborough Law would be "no use", the mother of one of the 97 victims has said on the 36th anniversary of the disaster. Margaret Aspinall told the BBC that the law, which would force public bodies to cooperate with investigations into major disasters or potentially face criminal sanctions, must be introduced "in all its entirety".Sir Keir Starmer had previously promised to pass a bill by 15 April, but confirmed on Monday "more time" was needed to pass the "best version" of the legislation. Ms Aspinall, who lost her 18-year-old son James at Hillsborough, called on Sir Keir to "not take too long in doing the right thing".
She said: "To be truthful with you I'm pleased to hear that he's going to do the best version, but the best version for me is it's got to be all in its entirety."It's no use watering it down in any way, shape, or form otherwise it would never be a Hillsborough Law."
Last month rumblings about changes to the proposed bill culminated with the prime minister cancelling a meeting with the Hillsborough families. Campaigners expressed concerns that officials had amended the bill to water down potential sanctions for officials. Ms Aspinall said the law needed to impose a duty of candour on individuals and not simply public bodies, as well as proper legal funding for families of victims of state deaths to achieve "parity of arms". "We had to go out campaigning for funding from the ordinary public, which was an absolute disgrace to help us fight such an injustice that we had," she said.
It was not until 2016 that an inquest jury concluded the 97 victims were unlawfully killed in the stadium crush at Sheffield's Hillsborough stadium amid a number of police errors. Ms Aspinall said she had "not had time" to have any feelings about the anniversary because she was still forced, along with many others, to campaign for change. "Each year that passes by there's always something going on about Hillsborough, because lessons have never been learned," she said.
Ms Aspinall added: "You only have to look at the Post Office scandal, Grenfell, contaminated blood, I can name so many things that there's been an injustice."She said it was important for the law to represent a "legacy" for the 97, as well as the survivors who were "still suffering" from the trauma of that day. "I have always said we have try to make something good out of something so tragic," she said. The prime minister's spokesman paid tribute to the Hillsborough families, and said: "We are determined to enshrine their profound legacy as we work to introduce a Hillsborough Law that will deliver the justice they deserve."Pressed on a timetable for bringing forward a bill, he said: "Having consulted with groups over recent weeks and months, we believe more time is needed to draft the best version of a Hillsborough Law."But we remain fully committed to bringing this legislation at pace, and we'll obviously continue to work with them in the weeks ahead and provide an update when we've got it."
Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Question Time sees woman share 10-year health battle in debate on 'failing' NHS
Question Time on BBC One tonight featured a debate around the NHS in Scotland and how one in three people are turning to private healtcare due to long waiting lists A woman described how she felt she was "failed" by the NHS on two separate occasions in a poignant moment on tonight's Question Time. This week's debate took place in St Andrews in Fife, Scotland with host Fiona Bruce sitting on the panel alongside Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP, Anas Sarwar MSP, Andrew Bowie MP, Thomas Kerr and Lesley Riddoch. A large part of the BBC show tonight was centered around whether Scotland's NHS is "dying before our eyes". Anas Sarwar, leader Scottish labour highlighted how one in three people are forced to go private for healthcare and one audience member explained how she was part of that shocking statistic. The female audience member asked, "I'd just be interested to know how you measure the improvements that you're seeing in the NHS if you're saying that the waiting lists are going down? Is it not just because more people are going private? Just today I was getting a private surgery having been failed by the NHS twice." The woman, who did not disclose the nature of the surgery she needed, went on to explain how she was forced to turn to private healthcare after being "failed" by the NHS on two separate occasions. She added: "I first got this looked at nearly 10 years ago by an NHS specialist dermatologist who didn't think there was anything to be concerned about, I followed up again a year ago, I was told the same thing and I'm not blaming these doctors who are very pushed for time, I work in healthcare myself but then I went to see a private doctor because I am fortunate to have the means to be able to pay for private health insurance and as soon as they saw it they immediately rushed me to have it removed. But I firmly believe that healthcare should be accessible to everyone and it should be equal, but I've kind of been forced into this situation where I don't want to deny myself the healthcare that I can afford but it shouldn't be at the expense of others." In response Thomas Kerr, representing Reform UK, explained "too many people are going private," and said "the NHS isn't working in it's current system, it does have to be looked into and it does have to be reformed". He added: "Just throwing money at it doesn't work, we've seen that time and time again, we've had record funding in th NHS that is still not working for people on the ground." When asked by Fiona if he supported the idea of a mixed economy like the French system he added: "As long as healthcare is free at the point of need for anyone who needs it then I don't mind where someone gets their healthcare at all. If you can afford it and you want to pay it privately then that's entirely up to a person individually." He went on to address the problem in Scotland of the number of doctors leaving the NHS, he said: "We have a higher tax system in Scotland which is making people who are learning in our universities like here in St Andrews are then leaving to go down to England or to go travel abroad, I think we have to look at the tax system in Scotland to make sure it is fair to try and keep our home grown talent here to make sure the NHS works." Mr Kerr was then grilled about Brexit by broadcaster and commentator Lesley Riddoch. She said: "Right Thomas, what happened to the £380m quid a week we were going to get from Brexit?" She went on to say: "We've got a bit of a mess going on with healthcare here, we've got a static life expectancy which is shameful given the amount of wealth there is in this country and overall our health is not great." Question Time has now finished for the summer, it will be back on our screens in September.
Times
3 hours ago
- Times
BBC staff told not to fight with family and friends over Gaza coverage
The BBC's director-general has warned staff not to 'fight' with their friends and family who are critical of the broadcaster's coverage of the war in Gaza. Tim Davie acknowledged that the conflict has been 'incredibly difficult' for staff from communities who consider that its output has not been 'representative of its views' during an all-staff 'ask me anything' session earlier this month. He urged them to adopt 'common sense' in response to concerns from one staffer that they frequently faced accusations about the BBC being a propaganda machine and biased about Gaza, according to the entertainment industry website Deadline. 'I love my job, but sometimes I can't tell anyone I work here for fear of arguments,' they said. Davie told staff that there was no expectation for them to defend the BBC's output. 'There's no pressure on anyone to fight for the BBC in that context,' he said. 'They've got to look after themselves, protect their family relationships, protect their friendships. That is sacrosanct to me'. • Tim Davie warns staff about 'antisemitic behaviour' at the BBC He added that trust in the BBC among audiences remains high and suggested staff could point to the data that reflects this if they felt it was appropriate. 'We're all advocates for the BBC. We're all ambassadors for the BBC. But let's be reasonable, and let's use common sense about this,' he said. 'Some issues are very tough, and I know it's been incredibly difficult for some people within communities who do feel that the coverage is not representative, in their view, of what is going on.' Deborah Turness, the chief executive of BBC News, suggested that some critics of the BBC's coverage are stuck in online echo chambers. 'A lot of people are reading a lot of content on social media feeds, which are algorithmically driven. So it reinforces the rabbit hole of perspective,' she said. • Viewers' opinions on BBC News to be gathered for first time 'When people come out of that quite polarised environment in their media feeds and meet BBC content, which is striving to be impartial, they can feel that it is an attack on their values.' The BBC faced criticism this week from the producer of a documentary about doctors working in Gaza after it decided to drop the film. The corporation said that it was handing Gaza: Doctors Under Attack — also known as Gaza: Medics Under Fire — back to its producer, Basement Films, because of fears that it was biased. Basement Films' head, the former Channel 4 News editor Ben de Pear, apologised to the contributors and criticised the BBC for reversing its original decision, having promised to release it on six occasions. • BBC will not ban Kneecap from its Glastonbury coverage Production was paused in April pending the conclusion of an investigation into another programme, Gaza: How To Survive a Warzone, which featured the teenage son of a Hamas official as a narrator. The investigation was undertaken by Peter Johnston, the BBC's director of editorial complaints. The report is understood to have been delivered to Samir Shah, the BBC's chair, and is expected to be published shortly.
The National
5 hours ago
- The National
Question Time called out as Reform councillor on St Andrews panel
Thomas Kerr, a Glasgow councillor who defected from the Tories, is due to take part in the flagship debate programme on Thursday night from St Andrews. All of Reform UK's Scottish politicians are defectors from the Tories or Scottish Labour. They have not won an election north of the Border. Kerr will join Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, Tory MP Andrew Bowie and broadcaster Lesley Riddoch on the programme. READ MORE: Patrick Harvie and Angus Robertson face-off over Israel divestment A number of social media users pointed out that both the Scottish Greens and Scottish LibDems have more elected representatives than Reform, but are not as frequently platformed by the broadcaster. Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said: 'Reform and the politics they represent are a direct threat to Scotland. We all saw what they were really about during the Hamilton by-election – where they ran a campaign of hate-fuelled prejudice and misinformation, showing themselves to be a racist, far-right party. 'Long before his rise in the opinion polls, the BBC gave Nigel Farage an extraordinarily high profile, as one of the most regular faces at the Question Time table. Now, they are doing the same in Scotland where his latest political vehicle has never had so much as a local councillor elected. 'It is frankly bizarre that the BBC has chosen to platform a representative of a party with zero electoral track record, and a party whose politics have been shown to be dishonest, divisive and dangerous.' Tomorrow, Question Time is in St Andrews Joining Fiona are Anas Sarwar, Andrew Bowie, Shirley-Anne Somerville, Thomas Kerr, and Lesley Riddoch 9pm on the @BBCNews channel, @BBCiPlayer and @BBCSounds, or @BBCOne at 10:40pm Apply now: — BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) June 25, 2025 A spokesperson for the BBC said: 'Question Time is a national programme which must be relevant to audiences across the UK and reflect a wide range of political views. "We continue to seek a range of views when Question Time comes to Scotland and across this series, our panels have had representation from the various political parties, including the Scottish Greens and Liberal Democrats. 'We also take account of the most recent electoral performance and electoral movement since the election. "Reform have consistently polled strongly all across the UK and in a recent Scottish Parliamentary by-election (Hamilton, Rutherglen and Stonehouse), Reform polled 26% of the vote, and finished third, behind Labour and SNP.' Kerr's inclusion on the programme sparked a strong reaction online. SNP MSP James Dornan said: 'Once again we see the once unknown Tory councillor Thomas Kerr on BBC. I have no doubt at all that him deserting that sinking ship to join Reform had absolutely nothing to do with it of course.' Scottish Greens Glasgow councillor Jon Molyneux added: 'Thomas Kerr has more time for TV cameras than he does for his constituents. He's not contributed to a council meeting for six months. 'Too much like hard work or running scared? He should do the job taxpayers pay him for and open up his snake oil to proper scrutiny.' READ MORE: SNP MPs join Labour rebels in bid to kill off benefit cuts On social media user said: 'When was the last time, BBC Question Time had a 'councillor' from a political party? They are so desperate to platform Reform.' Another added: 'Reform, again. No elected representatives in Scotland, but let's promote them anyway at the expense of the other parties who do have elected politicians.' One said simply: 'Again where are the Liberal Democrats or the Greens, Might as well just call it the Reform show #bbcbias.' It comes as a new MRP poll from YouGov, released on Thursday morning, predicted Reform winning three Westminster seats in Scotland.
