'We will not give up on Hillsborough Law fight'

A mother whose son died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster has said campaigners "will not give up" after a second reading of the Hillsborough Law draft bill was blocked.

Campaigners want a Hillsborough Law to put legal responsibility on public bodies to cooperate with investigations into major disasters or potentially face criminal sanctions.

The prime minister had promised to introduce the law before the 36th anniversary of the tragedy, but has since said he wanted "to take the time to get it right".

Ms Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died in the crush at Sheffield Wednesday's ground, said she would continue to fight for "the ordinary people of this country".

After a 27-year campaign by the Hillsborough victims' families an inquest jury concluded in 2016 that those who died in the disaster had been unlawfully killed.

Calls for a Hillsborough Law followed and in 2017 a draft was presented which included a legal responsibility for public servants to tell the truth after state-related disasters.

In September last year, Sir Keir Starmer promised to introduce the law before the 15 April anniversary but that did not happen.

After fears the duty of candour element had been removed from a later draft Ian Byrne, MP for Liverpool West Derby, attempted to reintroduce the original 2017 draft of the bill to the House of Commons for a second reading, but it was blocked by Labour whips last week.

Earlier this month Sir Keir told the House of Commons he was "fully committed" to bringing in legislation which would force public officials to tell the truth at major inquiries, with "criminal sanctions for those that refuse to comply".

He said a Hillsborough Law would be brought forward, but he wanted "to take the time to get it right".

Ms Aspinall has repeated her calls for the prime minister to "do the right thing" on BBC Breakfast earlier, saying she would not accept a watered down version of a Hillsborough Law.

"I'm so passionate to get this done for the ordinary people of this country," she said.

"Who are these people in Parliament voting against it?

"Every one of them should hang their heads in shame because they should all be voting for a Hillsborough law for the good of the nation."

She said the campaign was not just about the Hillsborough families and also cited the sub-postmasters Horizon scandal, victims of the infected blood scandal and victims of the Grenfell Tower fire.

"We will not give up," she said.

"There are so many good people who will not give up and this fight will go on until we get it in law."

A government representative said Hillsborough was "one of the greatest stains in our history and for decades, the Hillsborough families have campaigned to make sure a disaster like this is never allowed to happen again".

"While nothing can undo the years of injustice they have suffered, we will enshrine their legacy with a Hillsborough Law, including a legal duty of candour for public servants and criminal sanctions for those who fail to comply."

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