By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982
As any football fan will tell you, the dirty business of politics should be kept as far away from the beautiful game as possible.
But the tragedy at Hillsborough in 1989 involved people whose salaries were paid by the taxpayer: the paramedics who acted heroically that day, as well as the woefully poor policing which undoubtedly contributed to the nightmare.
So it’s fantastic news – and absolutely the right thing to do – that Alan Johnson told the mothers of three of the victims that he would release documents relating to the disaster yesterday that would otherwise have taken a further 10 years to be made public.
The documents’ release will be co-ordinated by The Hillsborough Independent Panel, which is to be set up in the coming weeks, and which could begin the process by September. The Home Office said the documents would be made available to the families before they become public, because they many contain sensitive and personal information about the last minutes of the victims’ lives.
The Daily Mirror says this is “hope revived” for the families of those who died, and that:
“A new Home Secretary meeting Hillsborough families is a glorious opportunity for a fresh start. Alan Johnson is a politician in touch with popular opinion so hopes are understandably high that he will recognise the overwhelming case for a proper inquiry into the 1989 football tragedy. He cannot fail to be moved by the dignity of relatives of 96 Liverpool fans who lost their lives on that sunny day two decades ago. We accept that every Home Secretary comes under many pressures, but a few seize the chance to ensure that justice is done.”
The Taylor Report into the disaster brought huge and welcome changes to the culture around football, and Alan Johnson’s new decision will probably not end the calls for a further inquiry. That will depend on the information disclosed. But it is a result for the hard work of thousands of supporters and families who have been constantly petitioning and campaigning for justice.
And it raises the point: surely where there is public interest, necessity or a need for urgent lessons – such as with the Morcombe cockle-pickers deaths or the deaths at the Deepcut army barracks – otherwise-withheld documents relating to people’s lives should be released early by the government.
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