The Hillsborough Law - what is it, and how did we get here?
source: BBC News
published: 15 September 2025
Image Credit: Duda/Pexels
Ninety-seven people died because of the Hillsborough disaster. Hundreds more were injured. And there are many still living with psychological damage wrought by the stadium crush.
While this suffering springs from the day of the disaster - 15 April 1989 - it's been compounded by the prolonged struggle for justice since then.
Following the news that an agreement has been reached on the long-awaited introduction of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill on Tuesday - commonly referred to as Hillsborough Law.
A terrace crush at an FA Cup semi-final in Sheffield on 15 April 1989 resulted in the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans.
Inquests and trials
It took 27 years before a court finally ruled that those who died were unlawfully killed, and that the fans who were caught up in the crush bore no responsibility for causing it.
Those were amongst the findings of the second set of Hillsborough inquests, which finished in 2016. The verdicts were marked with singing outside the coroner's court, as bereaved families and survivors celebrated a hard-fought moment.
They weren't to know that it would be nearly another decade before they had cause to celebrate again.
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Hillsborough Law Website
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