• Hillsborough

MP wants FA to feel 'full force of the law' over Hillsborough

Justice is still being sought for the 96 who died © PA Photos

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MP Steve Rotheram has called for the Football Association to feel the "full force of the law" over the deaths of the 96 Liverpool fans at Hillsborough in 1989.

MPs were debating the Independent Hillsborough Panel Report which found a series of failings before, during and after the semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

It emerged following the tragedy that Hillsborough did not have a valid safety certificate and the Independent Panel Report made reference to the warnings about the potentially dangerous crowd situations in previous years.

Attorney General Dominic Grieve last week confirmed he will ask the High Court to consider fresh inquests into the 96 deaths after the Hillsborough Independent Panel report revealed a cover-up.

FA chairman David Bernstein issued a "full and unreserved apology" following the publication of the report but Rotheram wants the association to be held to account.

"They knew that Hillsborough did not have a valid safety certificate and they were still adamant the game had to be played at that stadium," Rotheram said in the House of Commons. "Had they not insisted that the game had to be played there, the fans that died would still be alive.

"They must now face the full force of the law for their deadly decisions they made at that time."

Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham added: "The hirer of Hillsborough and its owner both had a duty of care, a basic responsibility to ensure a semi-final venue had an up-to-date safety certificate. That failure, in my view, was grossly negligent, as was the failure to act on warnings and complaints."

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