November 5: Funding wrangle betrays Hillsborough families all over again

SYMPATHY for South Yorkshire Police over their difficulty in funding the cost of the Hillsborough inquests may well be in short supply.

After all, if it were not for the force’s handling of the tragedy and its aftermath – which led to the original, deeply flawed inquests – these new hearings would not be required.

The fact that an eleventh hour agreement has now been reached to provide the force with £5m of additional funding so that it can pay its legal bills arising from the process comes as a relief.

However, there is a far bigger issue at stake here.

At a time of increased spending cuts it is understandable that the police are struggling to afford a bill that has now topped £20m.

Yet this fact should never have been allowed to place a question mark over the latest Hillsborough inquests, which are vital in order to get to the truth of what occurred on that fateful day 26 years ago.

It would therefore have been sensible for Theresa May, as Home Secretary, to pledge to cover any shortfall as soon as it was identified.

The fact that she has done so is to be welcomed, but it is disappointing that the decision to do so has come so late in the day – not least given the sincerity of David Cameron’s apology three years ago for the events that followed the tragedy.

Once again, the families of those who lost their lives in this appalling incident could be forgiven for feeling that the interests of justice have not been paramount in the minds of the authorities.

The money has now been found to ensure that the inquests reach their conclusion. It is to be hoped that they can provide the answers that the relatives have been seeking for so long.

A beacon of hope

Shopping centre opens at last

IT was as long ago as 1998 that a multi-million pound shopping centre was announced for the site of an anachronistic office and retail complex in the heart of Bradford city centre.

Hopes that this new centre would have a transformative effect on a city that was already struggling to keep pace with its close neighbour Leeds were then dashed as the scheme was bedevilled by delays and uncertainty.

When the financial crash struck it seemed the site was destined to remain little more than a hole in the ground – an embarrassment to a proud city left in limbo by the vagaries of a volatile economic landscape.

This morning, the long awaited Broadway centre finally opened its doors to the public. It is a day many thought they would never see. However, it is testament to the people of Bradford that this issue has remained in the public eye throughout the years of often bewildering postponements.

Three years ago, for instance, a group of local protesters occupied the empty site for a week, demanding a public inquiry be held into the long-running and deeply frustrating saga.

Now that developers Westfield have finally delivered the polished retail complex the city has been yearning for, it is to be hoped that it can serve as a catalyst for a fresh wave of confidence in Bradford and its future.

The intervening 17 years have seen Bradford slip further behind its city rivals. Now, after so many false dawns, the opening of The Broadway offers a beacon of hope alongside other developments such as City Park, the restoration of the Odeon and plans for a unique underground retail complex.

It seems, at long last, that it is Bradford’s time to shine once again.

Duty to remember

Why we can never forget fallen

THOSE who gather at Beverley Minster for this Sunday’s Remembrance Service will be participants in a new research project conducted by the University of Hull.

The mourners will be asked to try to put into words why they continue to commemorate the millions who lost their lives in wars that took place as long as a century ago.

It marks the launch of Remember Me – an £850,000 research programme into the “rituals and memorials surrounding death and dying, from the dawn of human history to the age of social media”.

No doubt this is a worthy exercise that will offer meaningful insights into why and how we mourn those who are no longer with us. However, in the case of those gathered in silent tribute at Beverley – and at every other Remembrance service across Yorkshire – the answer is certain to be a simple one.

We remember the fallen because it is the very least we can do for those who gave their lives in service of this country – and to defend a freedom we must never take for granted.