Hillsborough

Stephen Twigg Excerpts

Wednesday 12th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I say to my hon. Friend, who has experience in these matters, that it is up to the authorities to study the report, what happened, why it happened, what police officers were told they were doing and were meant to do, and all the rest of it. That has to be carefully looked at by the correct authorities.

[Stephen Twigg (Liverpool, West Derby) (Lab/Co-op)]

This is a hugely significant day for my constituents in Liverpool, and on their behalf I would like to thank the Prime Minister for his comments. He spoke about being sorry for a double injustice and about apologies over the past 23 years. I thank him and my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition for the evident sincerity of their apologies today. Will the Prime Minister join me in thanking and paying tribute to the bereaved families and other campaigners for justice for their tireless campaign for truth and justice?

[The Prime Minister]

I certainly join the hon. Gentleman in paying tribute to the families. When someone loses a loved one in the way the 96 families did, it must be tempting for them to try to put it behind them and move on—to find closure in some other way—so the fact that they have bravely campaigned for justice, knowing that they have not had the truth, is huge testament to them. I am grateful for his comments about what the Leader of the Opposition and I said. I feel strongly about this, like lots of people in the country, because until this matter was looked at carefully and really understood, too many people were willing to go along with the line, “Well, it’s all a grey area, it’s all terribly difficult. There’s been an inquiry and a coroner’s report. We’ve had a judicial review.” This shows that they were not good enough. This is not just for the people of Liverpool; it is for the rest of the country to understand what the people of Merseyside have been through.