Our club exists to improve people’s lives, and for the benefit of our community.
That is why Motherwell Football Club stands shoulder to shoulder with the families of the 97 Liverpool FC supporters who lost their lives at Hillsborough on 15 April 1989 and why we are proud to pledge our support to the Hillsborough Law Now campaign.
The campaign, formed by the Hillsborough families and survivors of the tragedy, calls for a change to the legal system in England and Wales to prevent others going through what the close relatives of the 97 have – and continue to – experience in their quest for justice.
Supported by Mayor Steve Rotheram of the Liverpool City Region and Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, the new law proposes to compel all public officials to be truthful at inquiries into public tragedies or disaster situations, while also offering bereaved families better access to financial resources for legal representation at inquests.
In greater detail, the campaign calls for:
• A charter for families bereaved through public tragedy which should be binding on all public bodies.
• A statutory duty of candour on all police officers – and other public servants – which applies during all forms of public inquiry and criminal investigation.
• Proper participation of bereaved families at inquests, through publicly-funded legal representation and an end to limitless legal spending by bodies. Parity of legal funding would at least create a level playing field in courtrooms.
• A public advocate to act for families of the deceased after major incidents.
Motherwell Football Club becomes the first club in Scotland to support the campaign, following in the footsteps of our counterparts at Liverpool FC, Everton FC, Brighton & Hove Albion FC and Tranmere Rovers FC.
Motherwell FC chairman Jim McMahon said: “As the UK’s first fully fan-owned top-flight club, we are proud to stand in solidarity with the families who lost their loved ones at, or as a result of, the tragic events of football’s darkest day.
“The dignity with which the families have carried themselves represents everything anyone needs to know about them and the people of the city of Liverpool.
“Although we accept this is a devolved matter, and some of the detail is already relevant in Scots Law at a Fatal Accident Inquiry, we call on the UK government to give serious consideration to adopting Hillsborough Law and to ensure that the football fans who weren’t able to return home, or those who have suffered terribly in the aftermath of that fateful day, at least have a legacy of ensuring their injustice is unlikely to be repeated.”
