Bishop of Manchester asks about government reviews of the Hillsborough Disaster

On 2nd February 2023, the Bishop of Manchester asked that the government ensure that the families of the victims of the Hillsborough disaster informed and consulted regarding any future reviews and responses, following a commons urgent question on the police response to Bishop James Jones’ report on the disaster:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I echo tributes to my friend, the former Bishop of Liverpool. As a young priest 34 years ago, I was summoned to Hillsborough to support bereaved families in the immediate aftermath. That the Hillsborough families were not fully consulted in October last year when the Home Office announced an independent review is, I fear, deeply regrettable. Will the Minister now commit to ensuring that the Hillsborough families remain consulted, engaged and at the heart of the Government’s response from this point on?

Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con): I think the right reverend Prelate is referring to the pathology review. It was announced in October 2022; the terms of reference were published then, in response to a point of learning from the former Bishop of Liverpool’s findings on the experiences at Hillsborough. The review is led by Mr Glenn Taylor, an independent forensic scientist and an expert with extensive experience in death certification. It has been paused while the families are consulted; they felt—and it was felt—that they deserved more input into this.

Hansard

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