Introduction to the project

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 Real Truth Legacy Project was started in September 2021 to ensure that the real truth of Hillsborough is taught across all age groups so that lies and smears about the disaster propagated by the media and state agencies are eradicated forever.

You can view the video below to gain an understanding of why the Real Truth Legacy Project is needed and why it matters so much, to so many.

On 26 January 2022 Liverpool city councillors passed our motion to commemorate the Hillsborough disaster with a dedicated assembly in all schools governed by the local education authority. The motion was passed unopposed by the council with full cross-party support and this motion was then put through every region in Liverpool City Region. So the Real Truth Legacy Project is unanimously supported politically across Liverpool City Region.

The campaign contains two key elements:

Education in schools and colleges

First is the development of an education toolkit about Hillsborough for schools alongside a campaign to have education about Hillsborough added to the National Curriculum. The aim is to see every school in the Liverpool City Region initially taking part in a special assembly about the disaster, the cover-up and the long fight for justice.

Trade union education

The second element of the project is the development of 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.

Resources for teachers and schools

In the zip file below you will find the following documents to support you in delivering an assembly to the pupils in your school. Our recommendation is that this is suitable for pupils from Year 5 upwards and it has been trialled with this age group in several primary schools.

 1.      An introduction to the project

2.      A PDF assembly

3.      Notes for teachers

4.      Context and timeline

5.      Sources and further information

Download Zip File

Schools can also utilise The Real Truth Legacy Project video published on this web page. The video can also be found on YouTube here.

Please note that colleagues from the LFC Foundation are willing to help schools with this and should be contacted by email: Nicholas.Ryan@Liverpoolfc.com or schools can email the LFCFoundation@liverpoolfc.com – landline contact is 0151 432 5675.

The Real Truth Legacy Project in action

Our education pack for schools is now available for use by schools in the constituency, wider Liverpool City Region and nationally.

In April 2023 I was incredibly proud to join staff and Year 6 pupils at St Teresa of Lisieux Catholic Primary School here in West Derby for an assembly to remember the Hillsborough disaster, as part of the rollout of The Real Truth Legacy Project. The video clip below provides a glimpse of the session.

In an age-appropriate 30-minute assembly, Year 6 students were told about the disaster and the decades-long battle in pursuit of the truth by the families of Hillsborough victims and survivors, until an inquest in 2016 finally ruled that Liverpool fans had been ‘unlawfully killed’ as a result of failures by those in charge of their safety, particularly South Yorkshire police.

The children also learned how this inquest completely exonerated fans, and why this was so important given that, in the wake of the tragedy, an orchestrated cover-up attempted to blame Liverpool fans for the loss of life.

Also in attendance were Chair of The Football Association and FIFA Vice-President, Debbie Hewitt MBE, Director of Communications at Liverpool FC, Susan Black, Hillsborough campaigners Jenni Hicks, Debbie Matthews and Deanna Matthews, the Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson and the LFC Academy education team, all of whom are backing our campaign to educate school children in Liverpool and around the UK about Hillsborough.

The Real Truth Legacy Project starts national rollout of Hillsborough education materials

We began rolling out educational materials about Hillsborough to teachers in schools across the country in October 2023. Working with AQA, an education charity and the largest provider of general qualifications in England, materials were sent to History and Citizenship teachers to highlight the power of teaching young people about this vitally important subject.

The materials have been produced in conjunction with Hillsborough survivors, family members, educators and subject matter experts including Professor Phil Scraton, and have already been rolled out to all local authority schools in the Liverpool City Region. They have also been endorsed by a committee featuring the FA, Premier League and other high profile footballing organisations.

AQA is an independent education charity with over 120 years of expertise and knowledge. AQA designs, creates, and delivers rigorous and fair assessments to more than one million students every year, including GCSEs and A levels, making it the most chosen general qualifications awarding body in England.

AQA reviewed the materials produced by The Real Truth Legacy Project and agreed they could benefit teachers, heads of department and senior leaders across the country in grounding key concepts in history and citizenship to a vitally important, real life event.

Reza Schwitzer, Head of External Affairs at AQA, says: “As an education charity as well as an exam board, everything we do is about improving the life chances of young people. We are always willing to work with politicians across the political spectrum to improve the materials teachers have access to and ensure education is relevant to the issues our young people and their families care about deeply.”

Ian Byrne MP said: “I am delighted that The Real Truth Legacy Project has been able to work with AQA to take this important next step in spreading the word to teachers and young people across our nation. Education about the Hillsborough disaster and the subsequent Establishment cover-up remains a vital part of the continued fightback against decades of lies and injustice and the demonisation of Liverpool fans by the media.

“Despite Hillsborough occurring 34 years ago, we see time and again in the present day how a lack of knowledge about the true facts of Hillsborough continues to cause untold hurt and pain to victims’ family members and survivors. The Real Truth Legacy Project is committed to continuing to right these wrongs through an ongoing education programme. It is vitally important that the lessons of Hillsborough are learned across the whole country and never repeated.”

Seeking Government Support to add education about Hillsborough to the National Curriculum

The Real Truth Legacy Project is also working with the Government to secure a full national rollout of education about Hillsborough, and I am leading on this work in Parliament.

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.

The Real Truth Legacy Project is fully supported by Liverpool City Council, Liverpool City Region, Liverpool Learning Partnership, Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotherham and former Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson.

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."

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 (former) Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson for their fantastic support of this initiative and to Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram for his help in rolling it out across the city region.

The Real Truth Legacy Project has been made possible by the support of so many people…

Jenni Hicks lost her two daughters, Sarah and Vicki at Hillsborough. Jenni said:

“We have new generations coming through now and they need to be educated about the ‘real truth’ of Hillsborough and what should have been done about it, so that people learn vital lessons from what happened that day.”

Margaret Aspinall lost her son James at Hillsborough. Margaret 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 is a Hillsborough survivor and justice campaigner. Richie 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, supported me in rolling out the project across the full Liverpool City Region. Steve 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.”

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:

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 Accountability and the Hillsborough Law Now Campaign

As a Hillsborough survivor, I launched the Real Truth Legacy Project in 2021 to educate schoolchildren and older generations about what happened at Hillsborough, as well as the cover-up and long fight for justice that followed.

I am proud to be Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Public Accountability and the Parliamentary lead on the Hillsborough Law Now Campaign.

Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham have consistently renewed calls for a Hillsborough Law, saying that victims of other disasters still suffer the same systemic failures that forced bereaved Hillsborough families to fight a decades-long campaign against injustice. This is something that has come to public prominence again recently in the Post Office Horizon scandal.

The Hillsborough Law proposals state that public officials, including police officers, must have a legal “duty of candour” to compel them to tell the truth, for bereaved families to receive full and equal funding for lawyers to represent them at inquests and for public bodies to sign a charter committing 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.

The Government only responded to this report in late 2023. This delay in itself was highly disrespectful to the Hillsborough families but when it finally came, the response by Government fell well short of the Bishop’s recommendations.

In December 2023 I spoke in Parliament about the Government’s delayed and disappointing response to James Jones’ report.

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

Videos:

Introduction to The Real Truth Legacy Project - Video by Robbie Gibbons for The Real Truth Legacy Project: https://youtu.be/UJ3KUoF--qQ

The Real Truth Legacy Project Assembly for Year 6 pupils at St Teresa of Lisieux Catholic Primary School in West Derby on 28 April 2023 - Video by Tom Dunn, North West Senior Reporter at LBC: https://www.ianbyrne.org/news/real-truth-legacy-project-school-assembly-on-hillsborough-st-teresas

Ian Byrne MP raises The Real Truth Legacy Project at Prime Ministers Questions on 02.12.2021 https://youtu.be/gvCoIPVV66g

Ian Byrne MP speaks to Liverpool City Council about The Real Truth Legacy Project on 26.01.2022 https://youtu.be/Ax6nzd4r7Wo

Ian Byrne MP & (former) Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson talk to LBC Radio about The Real Truth Legacy Project on 27.01.2022 - https://youtu.be/D4dIxqABI5s

Ian Byrne MP and Margaret Aspinall speak to Tom Dunn at LBC about the Real Truth Legacy Project https://youtu.be/58SmxP5c7-I?feature=shared

Sources used in The Real Truth Legacy Project materials

Books:

“One Day In April: A Hillsborough Story” by Jenni Hicks

“And the Sun Shines Now: How Hillsborough and the Premier League Changed Britain” by Adrian Tempany

“Hillsborough Voices: The Real Story Told by the People Themselves” by Kevin Sampson and the Hillsborough Justice Campaign

“The Football Business – Fair Game in the 90s?” – by David Conn

“Hillsborough - The Truth” by Professor Phil Scraton

Media articles

“The great betrayal: how the Hillsborough families were failed by the justice system.” Written by David Conn. The Guardian 21 October 2021: www.theguardian.com/football/2021/oct/21/the-great-betrayal-how-the-hillsborough-families-were-failed-by-the-justice-system

“The Truth’, Hillsborough, the betrayal of a nation and the catalyst for letting the powerful off the hook”. Written by Tony Evans. The Independent. 19 April 2020. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/hillsborough-the-sun-truth-headline-coronavirus-government-boris-johnson-a9472861.html

“Hillsborough Inquests: The questions the jury had to consider”. BBC News, 26 April 2016: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-35401436

“Hillsborough: how stories of disaster police were altered”. Written by David Conn. The Guardian 13 April 2009: www.theguardian.com/football/2009/apr/13/hillsborough-disaster-police-south-yorkshire-liverpool

“Hillsborough inquest timeline: the long wait for justice”. Written by David Conn. The Guardian 26 April 2016: www.theguardian.com/uk- 2 news/2016/apr/26/hillsborough-inquest-timeline-the-long-wait-for-justice

“Justice, finally: a Hillsborough survivor’s story”. Written by Adrian Tempany. The Guardian 1 May 2016: www.theguardian.com/football/2016/may/01/hillsborough-inquest-survivor-adrian-tempany

“Hillsborough disaster report published” The Guardian 12 September 2012: www.theguardian.com/football/2012/sep/12/hillsborough-disaster-report-panel-released-live

“Hillsborough's 97th victim was unlawfully killed, coroner concludes” BBC News, 29 July 2021: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-58011373

“Norman Bettison 'should consider his position' after Hillsborough report” - The Guardian 13 Sep 2012: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/sep/13/norman-bettison-hillsborough-report-straw

Hillsborough charging decisions - Published by Crown Prosecution Service, 14 March 2018: www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/hillsborough-charging-decisions-0

“Hillsborough victims' families demand swift justice for people behind cover-up.” The Guardian 14 April 2013: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/apr/14/hillsborough-victims-families-justice

“After 27 years, police blamed for Hillsborough tragedy” Published by Reuters 26 April 2016: https://reut.rs/3v4PA8r

‘We Got the Truth About Hillsborough but We Never Got the Justice” - Ian Byrne MP writing in Tribune Magazine, 15 April 2023: https://tribunemag.co.uk/2023/04/we-got-the-truth-about-hillsborough-but-we-never-got-the-justice

Reports:

“The Hillsborough Independent Panel Report 2012”: 12 September 2012: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/229038/0581.pdf

“The Patronising Disposition of Unaccountable Power’ - A report to ensure the pain and suffering of the Hillsborough families is not repeated” - by The Right Reverend James Jones. November 2017 6_3860_HO_Hillsborough_Report_2017_FINAL_updated.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Further information on Hillsborough

Books:

“The Beautiful Game” children’s book by Alan Gibbons

“The Day of the Hillsborough Disaster: A Narrative Account” by Rogan Taylor, Andrew Ward and Tim Newburn

“Hillsborough “When You Walk Through the Storm: The Hillsborough Disaster and One Mother’s Quest for Justice” by Anne Williams and Sean Smith

“Anne Williams: With Hope in Her Heart” by Sara Williams and Dan Kay

“The Hillsborough Disaster: In Their Own Words” by Mike Nicholson

“When Will Dad Be Home? One Boy’s Story of a Tragedy” by Shaun Milea

Book Chapters and Journal Articles:

Scraton, P. (1999) ‘Policing with Contempt: The Degrading of Truth and Denial of Justice in the Aftermath of the Hillsborough Disaster’. Journal of Law and Society. Vol 26, No 3

Scraton, P. (2005) ‘Death on the Terraces: The Contexts and Injustices of the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster’ in P. Darby, M. Johnes and G. Mellor [eds] Soccer and Disaster: International Perspectives. London: Routledge

Scraton, P. (2007) ‘Negligence without Liability: The Scale of Injustice after Hillsborough’ in P. Scraton Power, Conflict and Criminalisation. Chapter 4. London: Routledge

Scraton, P. (2013) ‘The legacy of Hillsborough: liberating truth, challenging power’. Race & Class. Vol 55, No 2 Scraton, P. (2016) ‘Researching ‘truth’, delivering ‘justice’. Times Higher Educational Supplement. 1-7 December

Scraton, P. (2017) 'The Hillsborough Tragedy and the view from below: speak truth to power'' in S. Case et al., [eds] Criminology. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Scraton, P. (2019) ‘The Hillsborough Independent Panel and the UK State: An Alternative Route to ‘Truth’, ‘Apology’ and ‘Justice’’ in P. Carlen [ed] Justice Alternatives. Routledge: London/ New York

Reports:

Hillsborough and After: The Liverpool Experience, the Hillsborough Project first report by Sheila Coleman, Ann Jemphrey, Phil Scraton and Paula Skidmore (1990), Liverpool City Council

No Last Rights: The Denial of Justice and the Promotion of Myth in the Aftermath of the Hillsborough Disaster, the Hillsborough Project second report by Phil Scraton, Ann Jemphrey and Sheila Coleman (1995) Liverpool City Council/ Alden Press

Beyond Disaster: Identifying and Resolving Inter-Agency Conflict in the Aftermath of Disasters, Research Report for the Home Office Emergency Planning Division by Howard Davis and Phil Scraton (1997)

DVDs/documentaries:

Hillsborough - docu-drama, written by Jimmy McGovern (1996)

Hillsborough - documentary, directed by Dan Gordon (2016)

Anne - 4-episode mini-series drama, written by Kevin Sampson (2022)