The 24th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster holds particular significance as it is the first anniversary since the report on the findings of the Independent panel (September 2012). The report which exonerated the Liverpool fans was a very important step forward for the families affected and everyone associated with Liverpool Football Club.
Jenni Hicks, who very sadly lost both her daughters at Hillsborough, has been at the forefront of the campaign for truth and justice for the past 24 years.
Jenni kindly agreed to this interview, which enabled me to gain a personal perspective on the tragedy through the eyes of somebody present on the day.
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Why do you think it took 23 years for the government to launch an independent enquiry?
It took that long because the cover-up was watertight and when you’re up against the establishment it’s very difficult to break down their version and the lies that were told about Hillsborough. Once the lies are established, it’s very hard to disprove the lies.
What trigger(s) changed this perspective of Hillsborough?
The first trigger which changed that was the documentary, written by Jimmy McGovern, which shows the power of television – it’s piped directly into your home so that ordinary people can think ‘that could have been me’. That was the first step in changing the general public’s perception of the disaster.
What followed on from the documentary was the justice concert in 1997 at Anfield which raised over half a million pounds to help pay for the family’s private prosecutions on manslaughter of the two senior police officers in 2000. At the end of trial, there was a hung jury on chief David Duckenfield, who was in charge on the day at Hillsborough.
Then, on the 20th anniversary, over 30,000 people turned up at Anfield and Andy Burman, who was the local M.P. for Leigh and the minister of sport, got up to speak. He is an Evertonian. The crowd responded by singing ‘Justice for the 96’ and Burman said he would take that message back to parliament.
Then, the Ministry of Justice asked to see a delegation from the Hillsborough Family Support Group and we went to the Ministry of Justice to meet Michael Wills. He was fantastic; my unsung hero in the whole of this. Trevor Hicks, Margaret Aspinall and I went to meet him and as a result the process of releasing all of the documents, 480,000 of them, began. The new chief constable of South Yorkshire was the first policeman to agree to release the documents. Then the other agencies agreed likewise.
What did you feel when the truth emerged on the 12th of September?
Relief. Pure and simple. The relief that at last the truth was out for everyone to see and that no-one could accuse us of being conspiracy theorists.
What is the meaning of justice to you?
The people who are responsible on the day and who lied about Hillsborough for 23 years stand up and take ownership for the part they played in the disaster, and to be accountable for their actions. And if that means a prison sentence, so be it. They made families have to defend the reputation of the people that died.
Certain clubs, such as Everton, have had collections for the campaign. Is it to your knowledge that any other teams are planning to do similar things?
Football supporters from all over this country and all over the world have supported us with our campaign for justice.
What are your views on Benitez’s, Kenny’s and Rodgers’ contribution towards the campaign?
Kenny was fantastic from the start. He is an honouree member of the Hillsborough Family Support Group; we count him as one of us.
Rafa was very supportive as well. He made a personal, significant donation out of his own funds when he left the club.
Brendan has been wonderful. The first thing he did was invite Margaret and I to Melwood to meet and have lunch with him. He’s very supportive and so is everyone at Liverpool Football Club, like they have been for the last 23 years.
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Many thanks to Jenni for her time to do this interview.
