The mother of a Liverpool supporter killed at Hillsborough has fired a warning to politicians not to interfere in the proceedings of an independent panel who are attempting to uncover the truth behind the disaster.
Margaret Aspinall’s 18-year-old son James was one of the 96 victims crushed to death on the Leppings Lane terrace before his club’s 1989 FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest and has called on the leaders of the three main political parties to allow the investigation to run its course.
The Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, is currently leading a nine-member panel to uncover official documents which were kept secret during the initial inquiry.
Speaking at yesterday's memorial service at Anfield to mark the 21st anniversary, Mrs Aspinall backed the new investigation which was prompted by calls at last year's service to then Culture Minister Andy Burnham MP.
She said: “I don't know who's going to be in Government on 6 May but I say to them now - do not change this process that's going on now because we are definitely determined to lift that blanket on what happened and we will do it.
“After 21 years of fighting, the families deserve apologies but as long as we get to the root of what happened that day and don't get led down different roads, like sheep, that this will never happen again because we've learned so much.
“We know why we're here. In 1989, 96 loved ones died. They didn't come back from that football game. We know the reasons why - there was a blanket put over Hillsborough and that blanket has got to be removed now.
“I say to the panel now please give us what you as fans and survivors deserve but most importantly what the 96 deserve - the truth, the real truth.”
Rafael Benitez and the entire Liverpool squad also joined bereaved families, survivors, ex-players and supporters on the Kop to remember the tragedy in Sheffield which saw the lives of 96 fans cut short after police had failed to deal with overcrowding at the stadium in the build-up to kick-off.
Amongst them was current captain Steven Gerrard, whose 10-year-old cousin Jon-Paul Gilhooley was one of the fatalities, and former manager Kenny Dalglish. John Aldridge, one of the players in the Reds side on that fateful day, gave a reading.
As the names of all the victims were read out, 96 candles were lit in their memory and followed by a standing ovation from the 10,000-strong crowd. An impeccable minute silence at 3.06pm - the time referee Ray Lewis stopped the game in April 1989 – was held across the city to remember the fallen.
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