politicians call for suspension of a Home office review in the pathology in the original Hillsborough investigations after it was found that the families of the victims had not been consulted.
On Wednesday, the Foreign Office said it had prepared an independent assessment to investigate what had gone wrong with the original pathology report on the deaths during the 1989 FA Cup semi-final, and to ensure that similar errors in the future were not made.
Ninety-seven football fans died in love during the match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on Apr 15, 1989.
But the announcement sparked anger when it emerged that the families of the deceased had not been notified of the review, which the interior ministry said had begun in July.
Liverpool Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and the region’s parliamentarians called for the review to be suspended so that proper consultations could take place.
In a statement, they said: “The ‘family first’ approach adopted in the wake of the Hillsborough Independent Panel in 2009 – and the longest judicial inquiry in British legal history that followed – was designed with one aim: to enhance the experiences and treatment of families deprived by the Hillsborough disaster would never be repeated.
“Even after three decades of torment and injustice by the establishment, the families read that assurance in good faith.
“That’s why it feels so incredibly thoughtless, tactless and callous for the Home Office to announce a review of the failures of pathology at the original Hillsborough trials without first consulting the families and loved ones of the 97.
“It begs the question, who in government chooses to violate this principle — and why?”
The politicians said the government had not yet fully responded to Bishop James Jones’s 2017 report, The Patronizing Disposition of Unaccountable Power, which made 25 recommendations, including an assessment of the original pathology.
The statement read: “While justice has never been served for those who lost loved ones in that tragedy, we will not stand by and allow the establishment to investigate without resorting to the feelings of family members.
“We therefore call for the proposed pathology assessment to be suspended until proper consultation with the Hillsborough families has taken place and their consent has been obtained.”
Original investigations, which were quashed by the Supreme Court in 2012, heard no evidence after 3:15 p.m. on the day of the disaster.
The decision was based on pathological evidence that all victims had suffered the injuries that caused their deaths before that time.
However, the Hillsborough Independent Panel found that the evidence was flawed and it was very likely that what happened after 3.15pm – the time when the first ambulance arrived on the field – was important in determining whether the victims could have survived.
In 2016, a jury on new investigations found that the Hillsborough victims had been unlawfully murdered.
Match commander David Duckenfield was acquitted of manslaughter by gross negligence in 2019, and a trial of two retired police officers and a former assault lawyer charged with perverting the course of justice collapsed last year after a judge ruled there was no case to be charged. reply .
In his report, Bishop Jones also recommended that the government give full consideration to a Hillsborough law that would include a duty of candor for police officers.
At its party conference last week, Labor pledged to pass the Hillsborough Act if elected.
A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said: “We apologize to the families for not being notified in advance of the announcement of this assessment. This review is one of the recommendations of Bishop James Jones’ report.
“We are committed to responding to the bishop’s report as soon as possible and will engage with the families during the process.”