Liverpool City Region to hold annual Hillsborough Day and lessons on disaster in schools

All councils in the Liverpool City Region have committed to hold a ‘Hillsborough Day’ every year on the closest Friday to the anniversary on 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.

The Real Truth Legacy Project was started by Labour MP for West Derby, Ian Byrne, who is now lobbying government to get the Hillsborough disaster added to the national curriculum.

Byrne is the Member of Parliament for Liverpool West Derby and is a survivor of the disaster at Sheffield Wednesday’s ground at the FA Cup Semi-Final in 1989.

He said: “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’m 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.”

Margaret Aspinall lost her son James in the crush in 1989 and today she told LBC: “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 helped Byrne to roll the project out 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.”

Dan Carden, MP for Liverpool Walton, said: “Today, every council across Merseyside has committed to adding a Hillsborough Day to their school curriculum. Incredible work by Ian Byrne MP and all involved to ensure future generations learn about the Real Truth of what happened and the long fight for justice.”

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 this week. Today he said: “I was proud to move the motion for The Real Truth Legacy Project at Wirral Council this week, supported by all parties. All credit to Ian Byrne MP and Steve Rotheram for getting this onto the agenda. Brilliant work from you both.”

In January Byrne met with the Education Minister in Parliament to discuss the next phase of the Real Truth Legacy Project, which is for Hillsborough to be added to the national curriculum. He is cautiously optimistic that this can be achieved.