Hillsborough and Humanity

As a Nottingham Forest fan I'm very very aware of Hillsborough and all that happened at the FA Cup Semi Final that Nottingham Forest could not win when replayed.  I'm aware of the reaction of the Murdoch newspapers which was my overriding memory of what followed, the low brow way that they made amazing unfounded claims before any investigation had taken place and ran with the headline 'The Truth'.  As we knew then i think as football fans and as we now absolutely know, it was far from the truth.  It's sad that 'The Sun' and 'The Times' did not feel that they could run with Hillsborough headlines on the day that the verdict was the number 1,2 & 3 story in the British press.

I am so pleased for the families and the activists that they have got a Jury verdict that vindicates their loved ones.  I remember the compelling Jimmy McGovern film that Chris Eccleston said was the most important work he had ever done and he's a Manchester/ Salford lad I believe.

With it's lies, cover ups, half truths, grotesque pantomime headlines in Murdoch newspapers, behaviour of public servants across the Police and Politics. Bernard Inghams letter to a Liverpool supporter said all about the disdain that the political elite had for Football supporters at the time, the Guardian has been at the centre of any journalistic integrity around the story.   For football writers across the Papers outside of the Murdoch and right wing press the story has been a back beat to any coverage of Liverpool over the years and it reached it's crescendo with the verdict yesterday, then a barnstorming and passionate speech in the House of Commons from Andy Burnham, I had always thought Andy just a little light weight in the oratory department but yesterday his speech was fair and well judged and I think the reason SYP had an almost immediate suspension at the very top of its management.

The Guardian reporting in 1999 prompted the then new Labour administration to set up the Hillsborough Independant Panel, a process of discovery was started.

It was interesting to see Theresa May read the full Jury verdict when to me this verdict is a result of the pressure of 'Human Rights' being brought to bear when everything else is stacked up against tose who want to get to the 'Truth', we need the EU Human Rights legislation and we ought to be proud when people are exonerated and justice is done that we were founding sign ups to the Human Rights legislation.

Don't be fooled by a Little England, Little UK view that Britain is better on it's own, after all what did the Bill of Human Rights ever do for anyone ??????


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