Delays to Hillsborough Law ‘extraordinary', writer Jimmy McGovern says
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had pledged to bring in the law by the 36th anniversary of the tragedy, which was on April 15, but Downing Street said more time was needed to redraft it, amid fears it had been watered down and would not include a legal duty of candour.
McGovern told the PA news agency: 'I just think it's extraordinary. What's going on there is people are demanding the right to lie.
'That's what it's all about.
'They don't want a law that will tell public officials that they must tell the truth.
'It killed 97 people, Hillsborough, and so they are demanding the right to lie over another Hillsborough. 'We demand the right to lie again'. Extraordinary.'
An attempt by Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne to introduce the Bill was blocked in the House of Commons earlier this month.
McGovern's drama told the story of the tragedy at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, in which 97 men, women and children died, and examined the build-up and aftermath.
It has been credited as a key part in the families' fight for justice, which saw original inquest verdicts overturned and new inquests which found that the victims were unlawfully killed.
McGovern said his work did not change anything, apart from the agenda.
He said: 'The change was all brought about by the sheer determination of the Hillsborough families.
'But I take great pleasure in the fact that my docudrama did change the agenda for a short time.'
Floral tributes by the Hillsborough Memorial at Anfield, Liverpool (Peter Byrne/PA)
He said writing drama offered the opportunity to give a different perspective on an issue.
'That's why the powers that be are always sniffy about docudrama, because the camera goes to the places where they don't want it to go,' he said.
The writer said he was in a Manchester pub in 1982 when news came through that Argentine Navy cruiser the ARA General Belgrano had been sunk by the British during the Falklands War.
He said: 'People in the pub stood up and cheered.
'And I said to myself, they should be on that ship. They should see what it's like.
'Well, the camera can do that. The camera fights against that kind of cheap, easy, bloodthirsty reaction.'
McGovern's new drama, Unforgivable, airs on BBC Two at 9pm on Thursday and will be available on BBC iPlayer.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Peaceful ‘pink protest' outside migrant hotel hijacked by masked men
Violent masked men have hijacked a peaceful protest outside a migrant hotel in which women in pink danced a conga. More than 100 demonstrators gathered on Sunday outside the Britannia Hotel in London's Canary Wharf to oppose the use of the four-star accommodation to house asylum seekers. Video showed female protesters dressed in pink performing a cheerful conga as they waved England flags. But the demonstration was soon taken over by a gang of masked men who swarmed the crowd, set off smoke bombs and tried to charge the fence surrounding the hotel before arrests were made. They were also heard chanting 'Keir Starmer's a w----r'. Sunday's protest was the latest in a series of demonstrations over the use of hotels to house asylum seekers, including protests and counter-protests outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in Islington on Saturday which led to clashes with police. Smiling as they sang, the conga demonstrators held a banner which said: 'Protecting women and children. It's not far right, it's just right.' One of the protesters was dressed in a T-shirt that depicted the Prime Minister as 'Keir Stalin', with a hammer and sickle, the communist symbol. Lisa, one of the protesters who was dressed in pink, said the protest had been organised by the local community to 'protect our women and kids'. 'We don't want sexual assaults, rapes and robberies in our community. We need proper detention centres and to deport them,' she said. Arrests and chants of 'send them home' Another demonstrator, Kelly, said the reason for dressing in pink was to send a message about 'women and unity'. But then chants of 'send them home' broke out while one man rattled the metal fence outside the hotel in full view of police officers. Tourists, shoppers and guests at a nearby hotel stopped to take pictures of the demonstration. Protesters jeered at people going in and out of the hotel, while at least one man was detained after an angry confrontation with officers. Onlookers chanted 'shame' as he was carried away. Tower Hamlets council was recently informed by the Home Office that it intended to use the hotel to house asylum seekers. In the early hours of Saturday morning, a coachload of men entered the Britannia Hotel, but it is unclear if they were migrants. On Sunday, a food delivery believed to be from Nando's was made to the hotel, which led to a number of boos from protesters. The Home Office would not confirm the identity of the men on the coach, but said in a statement: 'Since this Government took office, we have taken immediate action to fix the asylum system, removing more than 35,000 people with no right to be here in our first year.' Hotel protests spreading On Saturday, the Metropolitan Police made nine arrests after rival groups gathered outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in Islington, north London. A protest and counter-protest also took place in Newcastle city centre outside the New Bridge Hotel and four people were arrested on suspicion of public order offences, Northumbria Police said. Scotland Yard said plans were in place to 'respond to any protest activity in the vicinity of other hotels in London being used to accommodate asylum seekers'. Elsewhere, Essex Police placed a number of restrictions on a planned protest in Epping on Sunday evening. The force ordered that the demonstration should finish by 8.30pm and must take place in designated areas outside the Bell Hotel, which has been the focus of a series of protests over the last few weeks. Police have also banned face coverings until 3am on Monday and have the power to direct anyone committing or suspected of committing anti-social behaviour to leave the area until 8am on Monday.
Metro
an hour ago
- Metro
Anti-migrant mob surround Uber Eats rider to stop delivery to Canary Wharf hotel
A takeaway delivery driver was forced to cancel an order for refugees living behind a police barricade after a booing mob surrounded him. The Uber Eats rider was given a police escort to try and get to through the protesters guarding the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf on Sunday evening. But the baying mob stood in his way and he was forced to turn back with the Five Guys order under police protection as the anti-migrant protesters chanted 'scum' and 'go away'. It came after a flash mob of young men in balaclavas descended on the protest at migrants living in the 4-star hotel. Setting off red and white flares and chanting 'England' and 'Keir Starmer is a w****' repeatedly, the group struggled to break through police lines to join the other peaceful protesters, including local mothers and children listening to God Save The Queen on boomboxes. Chants of 'send them home' broke out while one man rattled the metal fence outside the hotel in full view of police officers. One guest at the hotel could be seen in a facemask sitting on the front steps staring at the angry mob on the other side of a chain link fence. A group of women, all dressed in pink, adopted a Just Stop Oil-like sit-in protest in the road outside the hotel. Protesters booed others going in and out of the building as eggs were reportedly dropped from surrounding towers on them forcing the group to briefly flee. At least one man was detained after an angry confrontation with officers. Onlookers chanted 'shame' as he was carried away. It is the latest in a series of demonstrations over the use of hotels to house asylum seekers. On Saturday, the Metropolitan Police made nine arrests after rival groups gathered outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in Islington, north London. A protest and counter-protest also took place in Newcastle outside the New Bridge Hotel and four people were arrested on suspicion of public order offences, Northumbria Police said. More Trending Scotland Yard said plans were in place to 'respond to any protest activity in the vicinity of other hotels in London being used to accommodate asylum seekers'. Elsewhere, Essex Police placed a number of restrictions on a planned protest in Epping on Sunday evening. The force ordered that the demonstration should finish by 8.30pm and must take place in designated areas outside the Bell Hotel, which has been the focus of a series of protests over the last few weeks. Police have also placed requirements on the removal of face coverings until 3am on Monday and have the power to direct anyone committing or suspected of committing anti-social behaviour to leave the area until 8am on Monday.
Channel 4
2 hours ago
- Channel 4
Hostage release should be ‘pre-condition' to recognise Palestinian state
We spoke to Adam Rose, a lawyer acting for British families whose relatives are being held hostage in Gaza. We asked him why the hostages' families were so upset at the Government's proposal to recognise a Palestinian state with certain conditions.
