MARGARET ASPINALL has said the decision not to hold the Hillsborough Memorial Service after this year is because of a need for “closure” following 27-years spent fighting for justice.
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| Margaret Aspinall at the 2015 Hillsborough Memorial Service |
Mrs Aspinall, chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group (HFSG), outlined the reasons behind the announcement that this year’s annual remembrance service at Anfield on April 15 will be the last.
Her son, James, was one of the 96 Liverpool supporters who died at Hillsborough in 1989 after attending the FA Cup semi-final with Nottingham Forest.
And she said the time was right for people to remember the victims of Britain’s worst sporting disaster in their own way.
“We’re not having any more services at Anfield,” said Mrs Aspinall. “The families have made a unanimous decision. We’ve got to draw a line some time. We’ve lost so many families along the way and we don’t want to lose any more but they need some time to themselves.
“We have taken the fans and survivors into consideration because some of them still want the services to go on and that added to the difficulty of our decision.
“But we thought this was the right time.”
Fresh inquests into the deaths of the supporters are currently being heard by Court of Appeal judge Lord Justice Goldring in Warrington.
The original verdict of accidental death was quashed in December 2012 following years of campaigning and the publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel’s report.
“When we first started out and we were fighting for justice we always said we would carry on the fight until we get the verdicts overturned,” said Mrs Aspinall.
“Everyone said that would never happen but it did so we’ve achieved that. We’ve had all the new individual inquests now and we think this is the right time to bring closure to the big services at Anfield.
“The families have made that decision and we have to respect it. There are two good cathedrals in this city and I’m sure they would accommodate a service if anyone wants one. But the important thing for me is I know the fans will always remember the 96, that’s what’s so good about this city, and they will all be able to do that in their own way.
“But hopefully this will also allow them to move on with their own lives because they deserve that too.
“The service has been really, really important to the families. What they got from the service wasn’t just remembrance of the 96; it was to see the love and support that other people were giving to them. That gave them the strength.
“That support helped the families to have the courage to keep on going, especially when there were times when we were on our knees. There was one time and I remember saying ‘I can’t go on anymore’ and some of the families said the same thing.
“I said ‘That’s it; I’m finished, no more.’ But then I got home and received phone calls and emails from people saying please don’t give up you knew you were doing it for them as well.
“So that to me is what the service was about; it was about all of those people and doing something for them.
“The only way we can thank them is to get truth and justice, not just for the 96 but also for them and for this city. We are not whingeing Scousers, we fought for what was right and we have been proven to be right. That’s what I’m proud of. But we’ve got to have some sort of closure. It cannot go on and on.
“I don’t want to leave this legacy of Hillsborough for my children and grandchildren to have to worry about. They’ve had 27 years without their mum. My grandchildren even now say ‘Nanny, you’re never in’. I’m doing to my grandchildren what I did to my children. They need closure.
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| Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard paying his respects at the Hillsborough memorial service last year |
“It’s not just about us as next of kin, it’s for everyone. The survivors have got next of kin, they don’t want to see their parents at a service every 12 months, crying and reliving what happened that day. So it’s for them as well that we’ve decided to have closure.”
It has also been announced by the HFSG that they are no longer seeking donations to support their campaign.
“We think this is the right time to say this - no more donations, no more fundraising. The families do not need it now,” added Mrs Aspinall.
“There will be people who still want to do things for the 96 because that is what this city is like, but we would say to them if you want to do something in their memory there are so many good causes in this city so donate anything you raise to them.
“We haven’t achieved everything we want to yet but this is the right time to draw a line and also to say thank you to everyone for their support and to pledge to carry on doing everything we can to get what we should have got 27 years ago.”
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