Campaigning Hillsborough family meet Andy Burnham at No10 North
Andy Burnham has met with grieving Hillsborough parents to discuss their campaign to ensure no one else has to wait decades to correct the official records about relatives’ deaths.
Sisters Victoria, 15, and Sarah Hicks, 19, were among the 97 Liverpool supporters crushed to death in the 1989 disaster at Sheffield Wednesday’s ground.
Jenni and her former husband Trevor Hicks spent years campaigning for South Yorkshire Police to correct the official court records, which wrongly stated their daughters lost consciousness within 30 seconds and died a short time later, when in fact it appears they suffered much longer.
Earlier this year, Chief Constable Lauren Poultney met Jenni and Trevor for the first time, and the family’s lawyers confirmed that she had instructed the force’s legal team to proceed with a Statement in Open Court (SIOC).
Now peers have added an amendment to the Hillsborough Law, in the sisters’ name, which would give families and individuals who have been seriously misrepresented in court proceedings as a result of a public authority's failure to act with candour, the right to apply to a court to correct the public record.
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The family are hoping to get the Government to support the amendment and add it to the Bill that is currently travelling through Parliament.
Jenni and Trevor met with Mr Burnham at No10 North before his trip to meet Commonwealth leaders to discuss their campaign.
Afterwards, Trevor said: “It was a very positive meeting, and we are grateful to the Prime Minister for listening to us.
“He has supported our family and the wider Hillsborough families for many years.
“We greatly appreciate his continued interest and commitment to helping families like ours who have fought for so long for truth and justice – and in our case continues to do so by urging the government to accept that the Hicks’ Rule will help many other families in future."
Jenni Hicks added: "We are extremely grateful to the Prime Minister for taking the time to meet us and for the warmth and support he has shown us.
“He stood alongside the Hillsborough families when he was in opposition, and it means a great deal to us that he continues to offer that support now he is Prime Minister."