Tribune interviews Ian Byrne MP: “We got the truth about Hillsborough but not the justice”

On this day 34 years ago, 97 football fans went to a match and never came back. Looking back, Hillsborough survivor Ian Byrne MP talks to Tribune about the cross-football solidarity movement still fighting for justice. Interview by Karl Hansen.

Today marks the 34th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, the greatest loss of life at a sporting event in British history. The death of Andrew Devine in 2021 meant that 97 people in total had died as a result of the events that day, with a further 766 injured.

In the wake of the tragedy, an orchestrated cover-up by establishment figures attempted to blame fans for the loss of life. Liverpool’s ongoing boycott of the Sun newspaper is a reminder of the city’s revulsion over that effort—but it has been far from the only campaign for justice waged by the families of those killed and injured.

In 2016, an inquest dismissed allegations that fans had caused the crush at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final, ruling instead that Liverpool fans had been ‘unlawfully killed’ as a result of failures of those in charge of their safety, particularly in South Yorkshire police. In response, the Hillsborough Law Now campaign was established to pursue legislative change.

The proposed Hillsborough Law would aim to better protect bereaved families after disasters, providing them with a Public Advocate, financial assistance for legal cases, and putting in place a ‘duty of candour’ for police officers and responsible officials in an attempt to prevent future cover-ups.

On the anniversary of the disaster, Tribune speaks to that law’s most vocal supporter in Parliament - Liverpool MP and Spirit of Shankly executive member Ian Byrne - about Hillsborough, the need for legislative change and how the justice campaign has built a movement of solidarity across football.

You can read the interview with Ian Byrne MP in full on Tribune.