Slot urges Hillsborough law action, families should not fight for truth

Arne Slot used Liverpool’s Champions League programme ahead of the Paris Saint-Germain tie to put the Hillsborough Law back at the centre of public debate, saying bereaved families "should not have to fight for the truth" about how their loved ones died. The Liverpool manager said he was "surprised" the law had still not been implemented, a remark that landed as the club prepared to mark another anniversary of the 1989 disaster.

The legislation, formally the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, was introduced by the UK government into Parliament on 16 September 2025. Ministers say it would impose a legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities, with criminal sanctions for serious breaches, and would give bereaved families non-means-tested legal aid at inquests. The aim is to stop state institutions from forcing families into years of legal struggle simply to secure basic facts about deaths, something Hillsborough campaigners have argued for across decades of inquiry and inquest battles.

That battle still carries deep political weight because Hillsborough remains one of the defining failures of British public life. Ninety-seven Liverpool fans died at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield on 15 April 1989, and the disaster remains the worst in British sporting history. The Hillsborough Independent Panel later concluded that no Liverpool supporters were responsible in any way for the disaster, a finding that sharpened demands for honesty, disclosure and accountability from public bodies.

Families and campaigners have warned that the bill must not be watered down. In March 2026, they told Prime Minister Keir Starmer they felt "insulted" by delays and by the failure to re-introduce the legislation on time. The government says Starmer personally promised to deliver the law, and he has said he first met Margaret Aspinall when he was Director of Public Prosecutions and was moved by the courage of Hillsborough families and survivors. Even so, the gap between promise and delivery has kept the issue alive.

Liverpool began its 2026 tributes to the 97 over the weekend of 5 April. The club planned a silence before kick-off against PSG at Anfield on 14 April, along with black armbands, a Kop mosaic and commemorative programme material, before a further club-wide silence at 3.06pm on 15 April, the 37th anniversary of the disaster. For Slot, the point was simple: memory without accountability is unfinished work, and the families should no longer have to carry the burden alone.