The Real Truth Legacy Project.
A campaign to educate all generations about the ‘real truth’ and injustice of Hillsborough.
Survivors and the families of the 97 fans who lost their lives as a result of the Hillsborough disaster have been involved in a three-decade campaign in pursuit of justice.
I am working with some of them on The Real Truth Legacy Project - a campaign to educate current and future generations about the injustice and Establishment cover-up of Hillsborough.
The campaign contains two key elements:
First is a political education toolkit for use by trade unions, Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) and like-minded organisations who wish to learn more about Hillsborough. Political education on 'The Real Truth' at Hillsborough will be made available, with significant input from families, survivors and leading Hillsborough campaigners.
The second element of the project is a campaign to get education about Hillsborough added to the National Curriculum, including a dedicated “Hillsborough Day” in the Liverpool City Region, to take place on a day near to the anniversary of the tragedy on 15th April each year.
The Hillsborough Day will see every Liverpool City Region school taking part in a special assembly to mark the anniversary and to learn more about the disaster, the cover-up and the fight for justice.
The Real Truth Legacy Project is fully supported by The Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson and by Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotherham.
Early Day Motion
In November 2021 I tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) - a formal motion submitted for debate in Parliament - to tell Parliament that the Hillsborough tragedy should be taught in schools as part of the national curriculum. I have received support from 36 MPs that the events from the past 33 years and the campaign for justice should be included in our schools’ education programmes.
My EDM states:
"That this House acknowledges that, 32 years after the Hillsborough disaster, criminal trials collapsed in May 2021 and nobody has been held to account for the unlawful killings of 97 innocent people.
"(It) acknowledges that it took 23 years of campaigning for the truth about the disaster to be finally acknowledged at the Hillsborough Independent Panel and for lies and smears about victims and survivors to be corrected.
"(It) further acknowledges that it took 27 years for the true inquest verdicts of unlawful killing to be recorded.
"(It) recognises the important work of the honourable member for Garston and Halewood (Labour's Maria Eagle) in getting Parliament to learn lessons from the disaster and her work to introduce legislation that would ensure that bereaved families and survivors of future disasters never go through the injustices faced by the Hillsborough families and survivors.
"(It) furthermore recognises the important role of education in learning the lessons from the disaster, and calls on the Government to include the Hillsborough disaster in the national curriculum, a programme of education which should cover the events of the past 32 years, the continuing campaign for justice and how we ensure the events of that fateful day are not forgotten and that the ensuing miscarriage of justice is never repeated."
Seeking Government Support for The Real Truth Legacy Project
In December 2021 at Prime Ministers Questions (PMQs) I sought Government support on this initiative in Parliament and secured a meeting with the Minister to progress The Real Truth Legacy Project. You can watch a video clip of this below.
Liverpool City Council passes Real Truth Legacy Project motion
On 26 January 2022 Liverpool city councillors passed my motion to commemorate the Hillsborough Disaster with a dedicated education programme and annual 'Hillsborough Day' in all schools governed by the local education authority.
The motion was passed unopposed by the council with full cross-party support. You can watch my address to Liverpool City Council about the Real Truth Legacy Project in the video below.
Entire Liverpool City Region signs up to The Real Truth Legacy Project
I am delighted and proud that all councils in the Liverpool City Region have now committed to hold a ‘Hillsborough Day’ every year on a day close to the anniversary of the disaster (April 15) as part of The Real Truth Legacy Project. All primary and secondary school pupils in the region will take part in a special assembly and will be taught about the disaster, the cover-up by South Yorkshire Police and the fight for justice through dedicated teaching resource packs made available to every school in the City Region by local education leads.
My heartfelt thanks go to all involved in The Real Truth Legacy Project. Every council in Merseyside has now committed to a Hillsborough Day and to lessons on the disaster, cover-up and the long fight for justice. It is so important that future generations are aware of what happened on that day and afterwards.
I am proud that future generations will know the Real Truth of Hillsborough.
Thank you to the families, survivors and campaigners who have worked with us to get to this point, and to Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson and her team for their fantastic support of this initiative and to Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram for his help in rolling it out across the city region.
Reactions to Liverpool City Region backing The Real Truth Legacy Project:
Margaret Aspinall lost her son James in the crush in 1989. She said:
“I still get emails to this present day, saying that the ninety-seven were to blame for what happened. That’s why this education project is so important, not only to the families, but for the people of Merseyside and for the future generations. But this isn’t just about teaching children about Hillsborough; it’s about changing perceptions for the good of this nation. Hillsborough is a part of our national heritage now and I think it’s important to let the children know that we had to campaign for over twenty years to get the correct verdict.”
Richie Greaves, a Hillsborough survivor and justice campaigner, said:
“Survivors and bereaved family members have been going into schools across Merseyside for years. Now thanks to this brilliant initiative by Ian Byrne MP there will be a ‘Hillsborough Day’ in all schools across the region.”
Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor for Liverpool City Region, has supported me in rolling out the project across the full Liverpool City Region. He said:
“The Hillsborough disaster is knitted into the fabric of our region’s social history. The Hillsborough Day ensures the stories of the victims, and those who tirelessly campaigned for justice, will be remembered by future generations. Fantastic work by Ian Byrne MP and all of our local councils to ensure local schools can mark the anniversary of Hillsborough by educating the next generation. It's a vital part of our social history and so important that we keep the memory of the 97 alive.”
Paul Martin, councillor for New Brighton ward in Wallasey, moved a motion at Wirral Council in support of Ian Byrne’s Real Truth Legacy Project in March 2022:
He said: “I was proud to move the motion for The Real Truth Legacy Project at Wirral Council, supported by all parties. All credit to Ian Byrne MP and Steve Rotheram for getting this onto the agenda. Brilliant work from you both.”
You can listen to Margaret Aspinall and I talking to Tom Dunn of LBC about what it means to gain sign-off for The Real Truth Legacy Project to be rolled out across the entire Liverpool City Region in the clip below:
Looking ahead to a national rollout
What we are doing on the ground in the Liverpool City Region will hopefully show other authorities across the country how to commemorate 'Hillsborough Day' and how to approach teaching school children about the disaster and the subsequent cover-up and campaign for justice.
I met with the Education Minister in Parliament in early 2022 to discuss the next phase of the Real Truth Legacy Project - for education about Hillsborough to be added to the national curriculum. I am cautiously optimistic that this can be achieved.
Ian Byrne motion passed by Liverpool City Council 26.01.2022 reads:
Liverpool City Council commends survivors and the families of the ninety-seven fans who lost their lives as a result of the Hillsborough disaster for their three-decade campaign for justice.
Council also notes that Kevin Sampson’s recent drama for ITV, Anne - considered a masterpiece by many - has highlighted once again the fact that, despite the ninety- seven having been unlawfully killed, to date no individuals or organisations have been held accountable for their deaths.
Council further notes that the impact of the campaign of lies, smears and propaganda orchestrated by South Yorkshire Police in 1989 and promoted by willing politicians and media continues to this day, with far too many members of the public even now parroting discredited lies about the behaviour of Liverpool fans in attendance at Hillsborough on 15 April 1989.
It is not surprising to council that many families of the ninety-seven and Hillsborough survivors have expressed despair at this continuation of lies about Hillsborough.
Liverpool City Council therefore undertakes to support the ‘Real Truth Legacy Project’ led by Ian Byrne in conjunction with many Hillsborough families and survivors. This is a campaign which seeks to ensure that current and future generations learn the truth about Hillsborough, and to ensure that schoolchildren in Liverpool City Region initially have access to a definitive account of the disaster and the subsequent cover-up.
Council hereby notes its support for a key element of The Real Truth Legacy Project which is to have education about Hillsborough added to the National Curriculum, including a dedicated “Hillsborough Day” in the Liverpool City Region, to take place on the nearest Friday to the anniversary of the tragedy on 15th April each year.
The Hillsborough Day would see every Liverpool City Region primary and secondary school taking part in a special assembly to mark the anniversary and to learn more about the disaster, the cover-up and the fight for justice through dedicated teaching resource packs made available to every school in the city region by local education leads.
For the sake of past and future generations, this is something Liverpool City Council feels it must get behind and calls on all councils in the Liverpool City Region and beyond to add their support to the Real Truth Legacy Project.
Public Advocate Bill and Hillsborough Law Campaign
My Parliamentary colleague, Liverpool Garston and Halewood MP Maria Eagle, has separately tabled proposals to create a dedicated independent adviser to work on behalf of families bereaved in major disasters via her Public Advocate Bill, which I am fully supporting.
Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham have also renewed calls for a Hillsborough Law, as they believe that victims of other disasters still suffer the same systemic failures that forced bereaved Hillsborough families to fight a decades-long campaign against injustice.
The Hillsborough Law proposals include that public officials, including police officers, should have a legal “duty of candour”, for bereaved families to have full funding for lawyers to represent them at inquests and for public bodies to sign a charter committing them to fair conduct.
James Jones, the former bishop of Liverpool, made 25 recommendations that formed the basis for the Hillsborough Law proposals, in a 2017 report commissioned by then Prime Minister Theresa May, but the Government has not yet responded to it. Steve Rotheram and Andy Burnham rightly say this is disrespectful to the Hillsborough families and I fully support the calls for a Hillsborough Law Now.
Further reading & media coverage of The Real Truth Legacy Project:
Hillsborough disaster to be added to curriculum in Liverpool schools www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/hillsborough-disaster-added-curriculum-liverpool-22896294
Hillsborough Disaster Is A Vital Addition To Liverpool's Curriculum But It Should Be Nationwide www.thesportsman.com/articles/hillsborough-disaster-is-a-vital-addition-to-liverpool-s-curriculum-but-it-should-be-nationwide
Campaigner Phil Scraton wants Liverpool’s Hillsborough education project to go national www.liverpoolworld.uk/news/campaigner-phil-scraton-wants-liverpools-hillsborough-education-project-to-go-national-3544149
Hillsborough disaster to be added to school curriculum in Liverpool www.itv.com/news/granada/2022-01-27/plans-for-annual-hillsborough-day-in-liverpool-schools-unanimously-approved
Liverpool schools to add Hillsborough to curriculum planetradio.co.uk/city/local/news/liverpool-schools-to-add-hillsborough-to-curriculum/
Liverpool school curriculums set to contain the Hillsborough Disaster and following events www.empireofthekop.com/2022/01/27/liverpool-school-curriculums-set-to-contain-the-hillsborough-disaster-and-following-events/
Plans to commemorate Hillsborough with education programme to be put before council www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/plans-commemorate-hillsborough-education-programme-22854835
Teach children about Hillsborough and the fight for justice, urges Liverpool MP Ian Byrne: www.itv.com/news/granada/2021-11-17/teach-children-about-hillsborough-and-the-fight-for-justice-urge-mps
Plan for Hillsborough education programme and dedicated 'Hillsborough Day: www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/plan-hillsborough-education-programme-dedicated-22140700
Hillsborough: Teach children about the disaster, MPs say: Hillsborough: Teach children about the disaster, MPs say - BBC News
Calls for kids to learn about Hillsborough disaster at school: https://planetradio.co.uk/city/local/news/calls-for-kids-to-learn-about-hillsborough-disaster/
Hillsborough: Schoolchildren should be taught about tragedy and the fight for justice, say MPs: Hillsborough: Schoolchildren should be taught about tragedy and the fight for justice, say MPs | UK News | Sky News
MPs call for Hillsborough and the fight for justice to be taught in schools: MPs call for Hillsborough and the fight for justice to be taught in schools - The Guide Liverpool
Plan for Hillsborough education programme and dedicated 'Hillsborough Day': Plan for Hillsborough education programme and dedicated 'Hillsborough Day' (msn.com)
Teach schoolchildren about Hillsborough and the fight for justice, urge MPs: Teach schoolchildren about Hillsborough and the fight for justice, urge MPs | The Northern Echo
Books
Hillsborough - The Truth by Professor Phil Scraton
And the Sun Shines Now: How Hillsborough and the Premier League Changed Britain by Adrian Tempany
Survivors and the families of the 97 fans who lost their lives as a result of the Hillsborough disaster have been involved in a three-decade campaign in pursuit of justice.
I am working with some of them on The Real Truth Legacy Project - a campaign to educate future generations about the injustice and Establishment cover-up of Hillsborough.
The campaign contains two key elements:
First is a political education toolkit for use by trade unions, Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) and like-minded organisations who wish to learn more about Hillsborough. Political education on 'The Real Truth' at Hillsborough will be made available, with significant input from families, survivors and leading Hillsborough campaigners.
The second element of the project is a campaign to get education about Hillsborough added to the National Curriculum, including a dedicated “Hillsborough Day” in the Liverpool City Region, to take place on a day near to the anniversary of the tragedy on 15th April each year.
The Hillsborough Day will see every Liverpool City Region school taking part in a special assembly to mark the anniversary and to learn more about the disaster, the cover-up and the fight for justice.
The Real Truth Legacy Project is fully supported by The Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson and by Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotherham.
Early Day Motion
In November 2021 I tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) - a formal motion submitted for debate in Parliament - to tell Parliament that the Hillsborough tragedy should be taught in schools as part of the national curriculum. I have received support from 36 MPs that the events from the past 33 years and the campaign for justice should be included in our schools’ education programmes.
My EDM states:
"That this House acknowledges that, 32 years after the Hillsborough disaster, criminal trials collapsed in May 2021 and nobody has been held to account for the unlawful killings of 97 innocent people.
"(It) acknowledges that it took 23 years of campaigning for the truth about the disaster to be finally acknowledged at the Hillsborough Independent Panel and for lies and smears about victims and survivors to be corrected.
"(It) further acknowledges that it took 27 years for the true inquest verdicts of unlawful killing to be recorded.
"(It) recognises the important work of the honourable member for Garston and Halewood (Labour's Maria Eagle) in getting Parliament to learn lessons from the disaster and her work to introduce legislation that would ensure that bereaved families and survivors of future disasters never go through the injustices faced by the Hillsborough families and survivors.
"(It) furthermore recognises the important role of education in learning the lessons from the disaster, and calls on the Government to include the Hillsborough disaster in the national curriculum, a programme of education which should cover the events of the past 32 years, the continuing campaign for justice and how we ensure the events of that fateful day are not forgotten and that the ensuing miscarriage of justice is never repeated."
Seeking Government Support for The Real Truth Legacy Project
In December 2021 at Prime Ministers Questions (PMQs) I sought Government support on this initiative in Parliament and secured a meeting with the Minister to progress The Real Truth Legacy Project. You can watch a video clip of this below.
Liverpool City Council passes Real Truth Legacy Project motion
On 26 January 2022 Liverpool city councillors passed my motion to commemorate the Hillsborough Disaster with a dedicated education programme and annual 'Hillsborough Day' in all schools governed by the local education authority.
The motion was passed unopposed by the council with full cross-party support. You can watch my address to Liverpool City Council about the Real Truth Legacy Project in the video below.
Entire Liverpool City Region signs up to The Real Truth Legacy Project
I am delighted and proud that all councils in the Liverpool City Region have now committed to hold a ‘Hillsborough Day’ every year on a day close to the anniversary of the disaster (April 15) as part of The Real Truth Legacy Project. All primary and secondary school pupils in the region will take part in a special assembly and will be taught about the disaster, the cover-up by South Yorkshire Police and the fight for justice through dedicated teaching resource packs made available to every school in the City Region by local education leads.
My heartfelt thanks go to all involved in The Real Truth Legacy Project. Every council in Merseyside has now committed to a Hillsborough Day and to lessons on the disaster, cover-up and the long fight for justice. It is so important that future generations are aware of what happened on that day and afterwards.
I am proud that future generations will know the Real Truth of Hillsborough.
Thank you to the families, survivors and campaigners who have worked with us to get to this point, and to Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson and her team for their fantastic support of this initiative and to Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram for his help in rolling it out across the city region.
Reactions to Liverpool City Region backing The Real Truth Legacy Project:
Margaret Aspinall lost her son James in the crush in 1989. She said:
“I still get emails to this present day, saying that the ninety-seven were to blame for what happened. That’s why this education project is so important, not only to the families, but for the people of Merseyside and for the future generations. But this isn’t just about teaching children about Hillsborough; it’s about changing perceptions for the good of this nation. Hillsborough is a part of our national heritage now and I think it’s important to let the children know that we had to campaign for over twenty years to get the correct verdict.”
Richie Greaves, a Hillsborough survivor and justice campaigner, said:
“Survivors and bereaved family members have been going into schools across Merseyside for years. Now thanks to this brilliant initiative by Ian Byrne MP there will be a ‘Hillsborough Day’ in all schools across the region.”
Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor for Liverpool City Region, has supported me in rolling out the project across the full Liverpool City Region. He said:
“The Hillsborough disaster is knitted into the fabric of our region’s social history. The Hillsborough Day ensures the stories of the victims, and those who tirelessly campaigned for justice, will be remembered by future generations. Fantastic work by Ian Byrne MP and all of our local councils to ensure local schools can mark the anniversary of Hillsborough by educating the next generation. It's a vital part of our social history and so important that we keep the memory of the 97 alive.”
Paul Martin, councillor for New Brighton ward in Wallasey, moved a motion at Wirral Council in support of Ian Byrne’s Real Truth Legacy Project in March 2022:
He said: “I was proud to move the motion for The Real Truth Legacy Project at Wirral Council, supported by all parties. All credit to Ian Byrne MP and Steve Rotheram for getting this onto the agenda. Brilliant work from you both.”
You can listen to Margaret Aspinall and I talking to Tom Dunn of LBC about what it means to gain sign-off for The Real Truth Legacy Project to be rolled out across the entire Liverpool City Region in the clip below:
Looking ahead to a national rollout
What we are doing on the ground in the Liverpool City Region will hopefully show other authorities across the country how to commemorate 'Hillsborough Day' and how to approach teaching school children about the disaster and the subsequent cover-up and campaign for justice.
I met with the Education Minister in Parliament in early 2022 to discuss the next phase of the Real Truth Legacy Project - for education about Hillsborough to be added to the national curriculum. I am cautiously optimistic that this can be achieved.
Ian Byrne motion passed by Liverpool City Council 26.01.2022 reads:
Liverpool City Council commends survivors and the families of the ninety-seven fans who lost their lives as a result of the Hillsborough disaster for their three-decade campaign for justice.
Council also notes that Kevin Sampson’s recent drama for ITV, Anne - considered a masterpiece by many - has highlighted once again the fact that, despite the ninety- seven having been unlawfully killed, to date no individuals or organisations have been held accountable for their deaths.
Council further notes that the impact of the campaign of lies, smears and propaganda orchestrated by South Yorkshire Police in 1989 and promoted by willing politicians and media continues to this day, with far too many members of the public even now parroting discredited lies about the behaviour of Liverpool fans in attendance at Hillsborough on 15 April 1989.
It is not surprising to council that many families of the ninety-seven and Hillsborough survivors have expressed despair at this continuation of lies about Hillsborough.
Liverpool City Council therefore undertakes to support the ‘Real Truth Legacy Project’ led by Ian Byrne in conjunction with many Hillsborough families and survivors. This is a campaign which seeks to ensure that current and future generations learn the truth about Hillsborough, and to ensure that schoolchildren in Liverpool City Region initially have access to a definitive account of the disaster and the subsequent cover-up.
Council hereby notes its support for a key element of The Real Truth Legacy Project which is to have education about Hillsborough added to the National Curriculum, including a dedicated “Hillsborough Day” in the Liverpool City Region, to take place on the nearest Friday to the anniversary of the tragedy on 15th April each year.
The Hillsborough Day would see every Liverpool City Region primary and secondary school taking part in a special assembly to mark the anniversary and to learn more about the disaster, the cover-up and the fight for justice through dedicated teaching resource packs made available to every school in the city region by local education leads.
For the sake of past and future generations, this is something Liverpool City Council feels it must get behind and calls on all councils in the Liverpool City Region and beyond to add their support to the Real Truth Legacy Project.
Public Advocate Bill and Hillsborough Law Campaign
My Parliamentary colleague, Liverpool Garston and Halewood MP Maria Eagle, has separately tabled proposals to create a dedicated independent adviser to work on behalf of families bereaved in major disasters via her Public Advocate Bill, which I am fully supporting.
Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham have also renewed calls for a Hillsborough Law, as they believe that victims of other disasters still suffer the same systemic failures that forced bereaved Hillsborough families to fight a decades-long campaign against injustice.
The Hillsborough Law proposals include that public officials, including police officers, should have a legal “duty of candour”, for bereaved families to have full funding for lawyers to represent them at inquests and for public bodies to sign a charter committing them to fair conduct.
James Jones, the former bishop of Liverpool, made 25 recommendations that formed the basis for the Hillsborough Law proposals, in a 2017 report commissioned by then Prime Minister Theresa May, but the Government has not yet responded to it. Steve Rotheram and Andy Burnham rightly say this is disrespectful to the Hillsborough families and I fully support the calls for a Hillsborough Law Now.
Further reading & media coverage of The Real Truth Legacy Project:
Hillsborough disaster to be added to curriculum in Liverpool schools www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/hillsborough-disaster-added-curriculum-liverpool-22896294
Hillsborough Disaster Is A Vital Addition To Liverpool's Curriculum But It Should Be Nationwide www.thesportsman.com/articles/hillsborough-disaster-is-a-vital-addition-to-liverpool-s-curriculum-but-it-should-be-nationwide
Campaigner Phil Scraton wants Liverpool’s Hillsborough education project to go national www.liverpoolworld.uk/news/campaigner-phil-scraton-wants-liverpools-hillsborough-education-project-to-go-national-3544149
Hillsborough disaster to be added to school curriculum in Liverpool www.itv.com/news/granada/2022-01-27/plans-for-annual-hillsborough-day-in-liverpool-schools-unanimously-approved
Liverpool schools to add Hillsborough to curriculum planetradio.co.uk/city/local/news/liverpool-schools-to-add-hillsborough-to-curriculum/
Liverpool school curriculums set to contain the Hillsborough Disaster and following events www.empireofthekop.com/2022/01/27/liverpool-school-curriculums-set-to-contain-the-hillsborough-disaster-and-following-events/
Plans to commemorate Hillsborough with education programme to be put before council www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/plans-commemorate-hillsborough-education-programme-22854835
Teach children about Hillsborough and the fight for justice, urges Liverpool MP Ian Byrne: www.itv.com/news/granada/2021-11-17/teach-children-about-hillsborough-and-the-fight-for-justice-urge-mps
Plan for Hillsborough education programme and dedicated 'Hillsborough Day: www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/plan-hillsborough-education-programme-dedicated-22140700
Hillsborough: Teach children about the disaster, MPs say: Hillsborough: Teach children about the disaster, MPs say - BBC News
Calls for kids to learn about Hillsborough disaster at school: https://planetradio.co.uk/city/local/news/calls-for-kids-to-learn-about-hillsborough-disaster/
Hillsborough: Schoolchildren should be taught about tragedy and the fight for justice, say MPs: Hillsborough: Schoolchildren should be taught about tragedy and the fight for justice, say MPs | UK News | Sky News
MPs call for Hillsborough and the fight for justice to be taught in schools: MPs call for Hillsborough and the fight for justice to be taught in schools - The Guide Liverpool
Plan for Hillsborough education programme and dedicated 'Hillsborough Day': Plan for Hillsborough education programme and dedicated 'Hillsborough Day' (msn.com)
Teach schoolchildren about Hillsborough and the fight for justice, urge MPs: Teach schoolchildren about Hillsborough and the fight for justice, urge MPs | The Northern Echo
Books
Hillsborough - The Truth by Professor Phil Scraton
And the Sun Shines Now: How Hillsborough and the Premier League Changed Britain by Adrian Tempany
Survivors and the families of the 97 fans who lost their lives as a result of the Hillsborough disaster have been involved in a three-decade campaign in pursuit of justice.
I am working with some of them on The Real Truth Legacy Project - a campaign to educate future generations about the injustice and Establishment cover-up of Hillsborough.
The campaign contains two key elements:
First is a political education toolkit for use by trade unions, Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) and like-minded organisations who wish to learn more about Hillsborough. Political education on 'The Real Truth' at Hillsborough will be made available, with significant input from families, survivors and leading Hillsborough campaigners.
The second element of the project is a campaign to get education about Hillsborough added to the National Curriculum, including a dedicated “Hillsborough Day” in the Liverpool City Region, to take place on a day near to the anniversary of the tragedy on 15th April each year.
The Hillsborough Day will see every Liverpool City Region school taking part in a special assembly to mark the anniversary and to learn more about the disaster, the cover-up and the fight for justice.
The Real Truth Legacy Project is fully supported by The Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson and by Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotherham.
Early Day Motion
In November 2021 I tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) - a formal motion submitted for debate in Parliament - to tell Parliament that the Hillsborough tragedy should be taught in schools as part of the national curriculum. I have received support from 36 MPs that the events from the past 33 years and the campaign for justice should be included in our schools’ education programmes.
My EDM states:
"That this House acknowledges that, 32 years after the Hillsborough disaster, criminal trials collapsed in May 2021 and nobody has been held to account for the unlawful killings of 97 innocent people.
"(It) acknowledges that it took 23 years of campaigning for the truth about the disaster to be finally acknowledged at the Hillsborough Independent Panel and for lies and smears about victims and survivors to be corrected.
"(It) further acknowledges that it took 27 years for the true inquest verdicts of unlawful killing to be recorded.
"(It) recognises the important work of the honourable member for Garston and Halewood (Labour's Maria Eagle) in getting Parliament to learn lessons from the disaster and her work to introduce legislation that would ensure that bereaved families and survivors of future disasters never go through the injustices faced by the Hillsborough families and survivors.
"(It) furthermore recognises the important role of education in learning the lessons from the disaster, and calls on the Government to include the Hillsborough disaster in the national curriculum, a programme of education which should cover the events of the past 32 years, the continuing campaign for justice and how we ensure the events of that fateful day are not forgotten and that the ensuing miscarriage of justice is never repeated."
Seeking Government Support for The Real Truth Legacy Project
In December 2021 at Prime Ministers Questions (PMQs) I sought Government support on this initiative in Parliament and secured a meeting with the Minister to progress The Real Truth Legacy Project. You can watch a video clip of this below.
Liverpool City Council passes Real Truth Legacy Project motion
On 26 January 2022 Liverpool city councillors passed my motion to commemorate the Hillsborough Disaster with a dedicated education programme and annual 'Hillsborough Day' in all schools governed by the local education authority.
The motion was passed unopposed by the council with full cross-party support. You can watch my address to Liverpool City Council about the Real Truth Legacy Project in the video below.
Entire Liverpool City Region signs up to The Real Truth Legacy Project
I am delighted and proud that all councils in the Liverpool City Region have now committed to hold a ‘Hillsborough Day’ every year on a day close to the anniversary of the disaster (April 15) as part of The Real Truth Legacy Project. All primary and secondary school pupils in the region will take part in a special assembly and will be taught about the disaster, the cover-up by South Yorkshire Police and the fight for justice through dedicated teaching resource packs made available to every school in the City Region by local education leads.
My heartfelt thanks go to all involved in The Real Truth Legacy Project. Every council in Merseyside has now committed to a Hillsborough Day and to lessons on the disaster, cover-up and the long fight for justice. It is so important that future generations are aware of what happened on that day and afterwards.
I am proud that future generations will know the Real Truth of Hillsborough.
Thank you to the families, survivors and campaigners who have worked with us to get to this point, and to Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson and her team for their fantastic support of this initiative and to Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram for his help in rolling it out across the city region.
Reactions to Liverpool City Region backing The Real Truth Legacy Project:
Margaret Aspinall lost her son James in the crush in 1989. She said:
“I still get emails to this present day, saying that the ninety-seven were to blame for what happened. That’s why this education project is so important, not only to the families, but for the people of Merseyside and for the future generations. But this isn’t just about teaching children about Hillsborough; it’s about changing perceptions for the good of this nation. Hillsborough is a part of our national heritage now and I think it’s important to let the children know that we had to campaign for over twenty years to get the correct verdict.”
Richie Greaves, a Hillsborough survivor and justice campaigner, said:
“Survivors and bereaved family members have been going into schools across Merseyside for years. Now thanks to this brilliant initiative by Ian Byrne MP there will be a ‘Hillsborough Day’ in all schools across the region.”
Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor for Liverpool City Region, has supported me in rolling out the project across the full Liverpool City Region. He said:
“The Hillsborough disaster is knitted into the fabric of our region’s social history. The Hillsborough Day ensures the stories of the victims, and those who tirelessly campaigned for justice, will be remembered by future generations. Fantastic work by Ian Byrne MP and all of our local councils to ensure local schools can mark the anniversary of Hillsborough by educating the next generation. It's a vital part of our social history and so important that we keep the memory of the 97 alive.”
Paul Martin, councillor for New Brighton ward in Wallasey, moved a motion at Wirral Council in support of Ian Byrne’s Real Truth Legacy Project in March 2022:
He said: “I was proud to move the motion for The Real Truth Legacy Project at Wirral Council, supported by all parties. All credit to Ian Byrne MP and Steve Rotheram for getting this onto the agenda. Brilliant work from you both.”
You can listen to Margaret Aspinall and I talking to Tom Dunn of LBC about what it means to gain sign-off for The Real Truth Legacy Project to be rolled out across the entire Liverpool City Region in the clip below:
Looking ahead to a national rollout
What we are doing on the ground in the Liverpool City Region will hopefully show other authorities across the country how to commemorate 'Hillsborough Day' and how to approach teaching school children about the disaster and the subsequent cover-up and campaign for justice.
I met with the Education Minister in Parliament in early 2022 to discuss the next phase of the Real Truth Legacy Project - for education about Hillsborough to be added to the national curriculum. I am cautiously optimistic that this can be achieved.
Ian Byrne motion passed by Liverpool City Council 26.01.2022 reads:
Liverpool City Council commends survivors and the families of the ninety-seven fans who lost their lives as a result of the Hillsborough disaster for their three-decade campaign for justice.
Council also notes that Kevin Sampson’s recent drama for ITV, Anne - considered a masterpiece by many - has highlighted once again the fact that, despite the ninety- seven having been unlawfully killed, to date no individuals or organisations have been held accountable for their deaths.
Council further notes that the impact of the campaign of lies, smears and propaganda orchestrated by South Yorkshire Police in 1989 and promoted by willing politicians and media continues to this day, with far too many members of the public even now parroting discredited lies about the behaviour of Liverpool fans in attendance at Hillsborough on 15 April 1989.
It is not surprising to council that many families of the ninety-seven and Hillsborough survivors have expressed despair at this continuation of lies about Hillsborough.
Liverpool City Council therefore undertakes to support the ‘Real Truth Legacy Project’ led by Ian Byrne in conjunction with many Hillsborough families and survivors. This is a campaign which seeks to ensure that current and future generations learn the truth about Hillsborough, and to ensure that schoolchildren in Liverpool City Region initially have access to a definitive account of the disaster and the subsequent cover-up.
Council hereby notes its support for a key element of The Real Truth Legacy Project which is to have education about Hillsborough added to the National Curriculum, including a dedicated “Hillsborough Day” in the Liverpool City Region, to take place on the nearest Friday to the anniversary of the tragedy on 15th April each year.
The Hillsborough Day would see every Liverpool City Region primary and secondary school taking part in a special assembly to mark the anniversary and to learn more about the disaster, the cover-up and the fight for justice through dedicated teaching resource packs made available to every school in the city region by local education leads.
For the sake of past and future generations, this is something Liverpool City Council feels it must get behind and calls on all councils in the Liverpool City Region and beyond to add their support to the Real Truth Legacy Project.
Public Advocate Bill and Hillsborough Law Campaign
My Parliamentary colleague, Liverpool Garston and Halewood MP Maria Eagle, has separately tabled proposals to create a dedicated independent adviser to work on behalf of families bereaved in major disasters via her Public Advocate Bill, which I am fully supporting.
Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham have also renewed calls for a Hillsborough Law, as they believe that victims of other disasters still suffer the same systemic failures that forced bereaved Hillsborough families to fight a decades-long campaign against injustice.
The Hillsborough Law proposals include that public officials, including police officers, should have a legal “duty of candour”, for bereaved families to have full funding for lawyers to represent them at inquests and for public bodies to sign a charter committing them to fair conduct.
James Jones, the former bishop of Liverpool, made 25 recommendations that formed the basis for the Hillsborough Law proposals, in a 2017 report commissioned by then Prime Minister Theresa May, but the Government has not yet responded to it. Steve Rotheram and Andy Burnham rightly say this is disrespectful to the Hillsborough families and I fully support the calls for a Hillsborough Law Now.
Further reading & media coverage of The Real Truth Legacy Project:
Hillsborough disaster to be added to curriculum in Liverpool schools www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/hillsborough-disaster-added-curriculum-liverpool-22896294
Hillsborough Disaster Is A Vital Addition To Liverpool's Curriculum But It Should Be Nationwide www.thesportsman.com/articles/hillsborough-disaster-is-a-vital-addition-to-liverpool-s-curriculum-but-it-should-be-nationwide
Campaigner Phil Scraton wants Liverpool’s Hillsborough education project to go national www.liverpoolworld.uk/news/campaigner-phil-scraton-wants-liverpools-hillsborough-education-project-to-go-national-3544149
Hillsborough disaster to be added to school curriculum in Liverpool www.itv.com/news/granada/2022-01-27/plans-for-annual-hillsborough-day-in-liverpool-schools-unanimously-approved
Liverpool schools to add Hillsborough to curriculum planetradio.co.uk/city/local/news/liverpool-schools-to-add-hillsborough-to-curriculum/
Liverpool school curriculums set to contain the Hillsborough Disaster and following events www.empireofthekop.com/2022/01/27/liverpool-school-curriculums-set-to-contain-the-hillsborough-disaster-and-following-events/
Plans to commemorate Hillsborough with education programme to be put before council www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/plans-commemorate-hillsborough-education-programme-22854835
Teach children about Hillsborough and the fight for justice, urges Liverpool MP Ian Byrne: www.itv.com/news/granada/2021-11-17/teach-children-about-hillsborough-and-the-fight-for-justice-urge-mps
Plan for Hillsborough education programme and dedicated 'Hillsborough Day: www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/plan-hillsborough-education-programme-dedicated-22140700
Hillsborough: Teach children about the disaster, MPs say: Hillsborough: Teach children about the disaster, MPs say - BBC News
Calls for kids to learn about Hillsborough disaster at school: https://planetradio.co.uk/city/local/news/calls-for-kids-to-learn-about-hillsborough-disaster/
Hillsborough: Schoolchildren should be taught about tragedy and the fight for justice, say MPs: Hillsborough: Schoolchildren should be taught about tragedy and the fight for justice, say MPs | UK News | Sky News
MPs call for Hillsborough and the fight for justice to be taught in schools: MPs call for Hillsborough and the fight for justice to be taught in schools - The Guide Liverpool
Plan for Hillsborough education programme and dedicated 'Hillsborough Day': Plan for Hillsborough education programme and dedicated 'Hillsborough Day' (msn.com)
Teach schoolchildren about Hillsborough and the fight for justice, urge MPs: Teach schoolchildren about Hillsborough and the fight for justice, urge MPs | The Northern Echo
Books
Hillsborough - The Truth by Professor Phil Scraton
And the Sun Shines Now: How Hillsborough and the Premier League Changed Britain by Adrian Tempany
Survivors and the families of the 97 fans who lost their lives as a result of the Hillsborough disaster have been involved in a three-decade campaign in pursuit of justice.
I am working with some of them on The Real Truth Legacy Project - a campaign to educate future generations about the injustice and Establishment cover-up of Hillsborough.
The campaign contains two key elements:
First is a political education toolkit for use by trade unions, Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) and like-minded organisations who wish to learn more about Hillsborough. Political education on 'The Real Truth' at Hillsborough will be made available, with significant input from families, survivors and leading Hillsborough campaigners.
The second element of the project is a campaign to get education about Hillsborough added to the National Curriculum, including a dedicated “Hillsborough Day” in the Liverpool City Region, to take place on a day near to the anniversary of the tragedy on 15th April each year.
The Hillsborough Day will see every Liverpool City Region school taking part in a special assembly to mark the anniversary and to learn more about the disaster, the cover-up and the fight for justice.
The Real Truth Legacy Project is fully supported by The Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson and by Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotherham.
Early Day Motion
In November 2021 I tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) - a formal motion submitted for debate in Parliament - to tell Parliament that the Hillsborough tragedy should be taught in schools as part of the national curriculum. I have received support from 36 MPs that the events from the past 33 years and the campaign for justice should be included in our schools’ education programmes.
My EDM states:
"That this House acknowledges that, 32 years after the Hillsborough disaster, criminal trials collapsed in May 2021 and nobody has been held to account for the unlawful killings of 97 innocent people.
"(It) acknowledges that it took 23 years of campaigning for the truth about the disaster to be finally acknowledged at the Hillsborough Independent Panel and for lies and smears about victims and survivors to be corrected.
"(It) further acknowledges that it took 27 years for the true inquest verdicts of unlawful killing to be recorded.
"(It) recognises the important work of the honourable member for Garston and Halewood (Labour's Maria Eagle) in getting Parliament to learn lessons from the disaster and her work to introduce legislation that would ensure that bereaved families and survivors of future disasters never go through the injustices faced by the Hillsborough families and survivors.
"(It) furthermore recognises the important role of education in learning the lessons from the disaster, and calls on the Government to include the Hillsborough disaster in the national curriculum, a programme of education which should cover the events of the past 32 years, the continuing campaign for justice and how we ensure the events of that fateful day are not forgotten and that the ensuing miscarriage of justice is never repeated."
Seeking Government Support for The Real Truth Legacy Project
In December 2021 at Prime Ministers Questions (PMQs) I sought Government support on this initiative in Parliament and secured a meeting with the Minister to progress The Real Truth Legacy Project. You can watch a video clip of this below.
Liverpool City Council passes Real Truth Legacy Project motion
On 26 January 2022 Liverpool city councillors passed my motion to commemorate the Hillsborough Disaster with a dedicated education programme and annual 'Hillsborough Day' in all schools governed by the local education authority.
The motion was passed unopposed by the council with full cross-party support. You can watch my address to Liverpool City Council about the Real Truth Legacy Project in the video below.
Entire Liverpool City Region signs up to The Real Truth Legacy Project
I am delighted and proud that all councils in the Liverpool City Region have now committed to hold a ‘Hillsborough Day’ every year on a day close to the anniversary of the disaster (April 15) as part of The Real Truth Legacy Project. All primary and secondary school pupils in the region will take part in a special assembly and will be taught about the disaster, the cover-up by South Yorkshire Police and the fight for justice through dedicated teaching resource packs made available to every school in the City Region by local education leads.
My heartfelt thanks go to all involved in The Real Truth Legacy Project. Every council in Merseyside has now committed to a Hillsborough Day and to lessons on the disaster, cover-up and the long fight for justice. It is so important that future generations are aware of what happened on that day and afterwards.
I am proud that future generations will know the Real Truth of Hillsborough.
Thank you to the families, survivors and campaigners who have worked with us to get to this point, and to Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson and her team for their fantastic support of this initiative and to Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram for his help in rolling it out across the city region.
Reactions to Liverpool City Region backing The Real Truth Legacy Project:
Margaret Aspinall lost her son James in the crush in 1989. She said:
“I still get emails to this present day, saying that the ninety-seven were to blame for what happened. That’s why this education project is so important, not only to the families, but for the people of Merseyside and for the future generations. But this isn’t just about teaching children about Hillsborough; it’s about changing perceptions for the good of this nation. Hillsborough is a part of our national heritage now and I think it’s important to let the children know that we had to campaign for over twenty years to get the correct verdict.”
Richie Greaves, a Hillsborough survivor and justice campaigner, said:
“Survivors and bereaved family members have been going into schools across Merseyside for years. Now thanks to this brilliant initiative by Ian Byrne MP there will be a ‘Hillsborough Day’ in all schools across the region.”
Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor for Liverpool City Region, has supported me in rolling out the project across the full Liverpool City Region. He said:
“The Hillsborough disaster is knitted into the fabric of our region’s social history. The Hillsborough Day ensures the stories of the victims, and those who tirelessly campaigned for justice, will be remembered by future generations. Fantastic work by Ian Byrne MP and all of our local councils to ensure local schools can mark the anniversary of Hillsborough by educating the next generation. It's a vital part of our social history and so important that we keep the memory of the 97 alive.”
Paul Martin, councillor for New Brighton ward in Wallasey, moved a motion at Wirral Council in support of Ian Byrne’s Real Truth Legacy Project in March 2022:
He said: “I was proud to move the motion for The Real Truth Legacy Project at Wirral Council, supported by all parties. All credit to Ian Byrne MP and Steve Rotheram for getting this onto the agenda. Brilliant work from you both.”
You can listen to Margaret Aspinall and I talking to Tom Dunn of LBC about what it means to gain sign-off for The Real Truth Legacy Project to be rolled out across the entire Liverpool City Region in the clip below:
Looking ahead to a national rollout
What we are doing on the ground in the Liverpool City Region will hopefully show other authorities across the country how to commemorate 'Hillsborough Day' and how to approach teaching school children about the disaster and the subsequent cover-up and campaign for justice.
I met with the Education Minister in Parliament in early 2022 to discuss the next phase of the Real Truth Legacy Project - for education about Hillsborough to be added to the national curriculum. I am cautiously optimistic that this can be achieved.
Ian Byrne motion passed by Liverpool City Council 26.01.2022 reads:
Liverpool City Council commends survivors and the families of the ninety-seven fans who lost their lives as a result of the Hillsborough disaster for their three-decade campaign for justice.
Council also notes that Kevin Sampson’s recent drama for ITV, Anne - considered a masterpiece by many - has highlighted once again the fact that, despite the ninety- seven having been unlawfully killed, to date no individuals or organisations have been held accountable for their deaths.
Council further notes that the impact of the campaign of lies, smears and propaganda orchestrated by South Yorkshire Police in 1989 and promoted by willing politicians and media continues to this day, with far too many members of the public even now parroting discredited lies about the behaviour of Liverpool fans in attendance at Hillsborough on 15 April 1989.
It is not surprising to council that many families of the ninety-seven and Hillsborough survivors have expressed despair at this continuation of lies about Hillsborough.
Liverpool City Council therefore undertakes to support the ‘Real Truth Legacy Project’ led by Ian Byrne in conjunction with many Hillsborough families and survivors. This is a campaign which seeks to ensure that current and future generations learn the truth about Hillsborough, and to ensure that schoolchildren in Liverpool City Region initially have access to a definitive account of the disaster and the subsequent cover-up.
Council hereby notes its support for a key element of The Real Truth Legacy Project which is to have education about Hillsborough added to the National Curriculum, including a dedicated “Hillsborough Day” in the Liverpool City Region, to take place on the nearest Friday to the anniversary of the tragedy on 15th April each year.
The Hillsborough Day would see every Liverpool City Region primary and secondary school taking part in a special assembly to mark the anniversary and to learn more about the disaster, the cover-up and the fight for justice through dedicated teaching resource packs made available to every school in the city region by local education leads.
For the sake of past and future generations, this is something Liverpool City Council feels it must get behind and calls on all councils in the Liverpool City Region and beyond to add their support to the Real Truth Legacy Project.
Public Advocate Bill and Hillsborough Law Campaign
My Parliamentary colleague, Liverpool Garston and Halewood MP Maria Eagle, has separately tabled proposals to create a dedicated independent adviser to work on behalf of families bereaved in major disasters via her Public Advocate Bill, which I am fully supporting.
Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham have also renewed calls for a Hillsborough Law, as they believe that victims of other disasters still suffer the same systemic failures that forced bereaved Hillsborough families to fight a decades-long campaign against injustice.
The Hillsborough Law proposals include that public officials, including police officers, should have a legal “duty of candour”, for bereaved families to have full funding for lawyers to represent them at inquests and for public bodies to sign a charter committing them to fair conduct.
James Jones, the former bishop of Liverpool, made 25 recommendations that formed the basis for the Hillsborough Law proposals, in a 2017 report commissioned by then Prime Minister Theresa May, but the Government has not yet responded to it. Steve Rotheram and Andy Burnham rightly say this is disrespectful to the Hillsborough families and I fully support the calls for a Hillsborough Law Now.
Further reading & media coverage of The Real Truth Legacy Project:
Hillsborough disaster to be added to curriculum in Liverpool schools www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/hillsborough-disaster-added-curriculum-liverpool-22896294
Hillsborough Disaster Is A Vital Addition To Liverpool's Curriculum But It Should Be Nationwide www.thesportsman.com/articles/hillsborough-disaster-is-a-vital-addition-to-liverpool-s-curriculum-but-it-should-be-nationwide
Campaigner Phil Scraton wants Liverpool’s Hillsborough education project to go national www.liverpoolworld.uk/news/campaigner-phil-scraton-wants-liverpools-hillsborough-education-project-to-go-national-3544149
Hillsborough disaster to be added to school curriculum in Liverpool www.itv.com/news/granada/2022-01-27/plans-for-annual-hillsborough-day-in-liverpool-schools-unanimously-approved
Liverpool schools to add Hillsborough to curriculum planetradio.co.uk/city/local/news/liverpool-schools-to-add-hillsborough-to-curriculum/
Liverpool school curriculums set to contain the Hillsborough Disaster and following events www.empireofthekop.com/2022/01/27/liverpool-school-curriculums-set-to-contain-the-hillsborough-disaster-and-following-events/
Plans to commemorate Hillsborough with education programme to be put before council www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/plans-commemorate-hillsborough-education-programme-22854835
Teach children about Hillsborough and the fight for justice, urges Liverpool MP Ian Byrne: www.itv.com/news/granada/2021-11-17/teach-children-about-hillsborough-and-the-fight-for-justice-urge-mps
Plan for Hillsborough education programme and dedicated 'Hillsborough Day: www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/plan-hillsborough-education-programme-dedicated-22140700
Hillsborough: Teach children about the disaster, MPs say: Hillsborough: Teach children about the disaster, MPs say - BBC News
Calls for kids to learn about Hillsborough disaster at school: https://planetradio.co.uk/city/local/news/calls-for-kids-to-learn-about-hillsborough-disaster/
Hillsborough: Schoolchildren should be taught about tragedy and the fight for justice, say MPs: Hillsborough: Schoolchildren should be taught about tragedy and the fight for justice, say MPs | UK News | Sky News
MPs call for Hillsborough and the fight for justice to be taught in schools: MPs call for Hillsborough and the fight for justice to be taught in schools - The Guide Liverpool
Plan for Hillsborough education programme and dedicated 'Hillsborough Day': Plan for Hillsborough education programme and dedicated 'Hillsborough Day' (msn.com)
Teach schoolchildren about Hillsborough and the fight for justice, urge MPs: Teach schoolchildren about Hillsborough and the fight for justice, urge MPs | The Northern Echo
Books
Hillsborough - The Truth by Professor Phil Scraton
And the Sun Shines Now: How Hillsborough and the Premier League Changed Britain by Adrian Tempany
