Public Office (Accountability) Bill (First sitting)

James Asser Excerpts

Thursday 27th November 2025 Public Bill Committees

[Ian Byrne]

Q If they are not added, will the Bill be poorer for it? Will you have confidence in the Bill without them?

Charlotte Hennessy: I think they are needed; they make the Bill stronger, and anything that makes the Bill stronger is imperative.

Steve Kelly: We touched on it before—sorry, I am not sure who it was—but there should be more sanctions on the press. Without the press reports, the Hillsborough story would not have been as disastrous for us and would have not taken so long to come to a conclusion.

[James Asser (West Ham and Beckton) (Lab)]

Q May I just say that—no disrespect to our other witnesses— you are the most important people that we are going to hear from today? This is the first time I have been able to hear from you directly, and it has meant an awful lot to me, so I appreciate it.

You have expressed your confidence in the Bill, and we want to get it right. Given that you have had to spend four decades of your lives campaigning on this, which is an extraordinary and appalling amount of time to get to this point, if we get this passed and deliver on your confidence, what does that mean for you? Does it mean that you can say, “We have won. We get our lives back. We can do all the family things that this has taken up”? Or does it change your campaigning so that you can support others? You may have not thought about that point. I just want to make sure that we understand, if we get this done for you, and if we get it done right, what it actually means for you. I think it is important that we know.

Steve Kelly: You do think about it every day. We are confident—believe it or not—and we have a lot of hope.

Sue Roberts: We keep having this conversation.

Charlotte Hennessy: We do; it is something that we talk about often.

Sue Roberts: We cannot wait for there to be a Hillsborough law so that we can move on.

Charlotte Hennessy: We know that we are never going to be able to secure criminal prosecutions for what happened to our loved ones—that ship has sailed. The best thing that we can do now is just make sure that nobody ever goes through what we have been through. Yes, that is a conversation that the four of us have very often. Once the Bill is passed in its entirety, I think we will be done.

Margaret Aspinall: I always say that, with Hillsborough, it is not all negativity; there is positivity as well. The positivity is that we have changed things in the way that supporters are treated. They were treated appallingly in the ’70s and the ’80s—I think back to my own husband—but we have changed things in that way. People now have a choice of either standing or sitting, with about a 99% certainty that they will go home.

I think the most important positive thing that we can get out of Hillsborough is having a Hillsborough law for the people. It would be a wonderful legacy for the 97, and this is for them as well. That is most important thing: that they have left a legacy and changed a corrupt system that was so wrong. I think our job will be done then.

I was a relatively young woman when I lost my son. I am a very old lady now—I am not going to tell you all how old I am, by the way, but I have had a bus pass for quite a few years. For most of my life, I have not seen my children grow up, or my grandchildren growing up —one is engaged now. It is so wrong, and nobody should have to face that and to fight and campaign for truth, for justice—or for accountability; I do not think there was any such word as “justice”.

If we get this Hillsborough law passed—and get the King to rubber stamp it, or whatever happens—our job will be done. The good people behind us are unsung heroes who have helped us along this journey. There is a lot to thank them for as well, and hopefully to thank all of you for.

[The Chair]

There are a lot more questions that Members would like to ask all of you, and no doubt there are a lot more answers that you will wish to give, but we have run out of time—that was inevitable this morning. Thank you so much for coming. I appreciate that it has not been easy for any of you; we all understand that, but we are deeply grateful to you. Thank you so much.

Charlotte Hennessy: Thank you for the opportunity. As members of the Bill Committee, you have a huge opportunity to change that culture and make our legal system stronger and better. Please do not waste it, and please do not let the public down.