I have written before with regard to my thoughts around the events of Saturday 15 May, 1989. Most recently, I wrote about it here, as we passed another anniversary where we are no closer to an official disclosure of the truth.

So much has been said and written over this past 22 years and almost 9 months, yet that day remains cloaked in bureaucratic denial of a football stadium, the safety certificate of which was invalid, a Chief Superintendent who lied to the FA in the immediate aftermath of the event as to how an exit gate had been opened, and the innuendo created by various sections of the Media.

This is not a case of Liverpool Football Club and its supporters against a vile tabloid newspaper. We already know that the said publication has long lost any authority to criticise others – we know that time and time again, the newspaper in question has been shown to be fraudulent, dishonest and immoral.

As I said however, this is not about a newspaper, it is not even about a football club. It is simply about the right of 96 sets of mums and dads, grandparents, siblings, sons and daughters to know the truth. And it is not a truth that is being forced upon the authorities, it is an inevitable truth, one behind which they cannot continue to hide the facts about what happened that day.

One of the best pieces of content that I have recently read on Hillsborough was by the Guardian’s David Conn. It is balanced and tells the truth … simple requirements of a newspaper piece really so sadly lacking in many of Mr Conn’s peers. The Independent Panel is a massive step in the right direction towards Justice for the 96. And in this case, Justice means truth, it means someone being held accountable.

I hear people sometimes ask why the families and supporters won’t just let it go. I find that an incredibly naive notion, and would love those who proffer it to actually follow it through in any circumstance in which they felt aggrieved at a lack of truth, especially when their loved ones have been lost.

Let me put it in contemporary terms:-

So many people have spoken glowingly and with such praise about the bravery and determination of Doreen Lawrence. I absolutely agree with every compliment bestowed upon this amazing woman who fought for 18 years to overturn the lies of the Metropolitan Police. Tell me then, is the case of Anne Williams any different, who has fought for 22 years for similar justice for her son Kevin who died at Hillsborough?

This is not about football, it is not about tribal rivalries, this is not about a city which refuses to let go of its grief. This is about a mother seeking the truth. Yes, there are 95 other families who want that truth, but the fact that Kevin Williams was a Scouser who died at a football match does not make his right of justice any less important than anyone else.

Please can I ask you to sign the below petition, which will allow Anne Williams to once again take this increasing burden of evidence to the Attorney General, and finally gain a small element of closure, the justice that the Williams family deserves.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/19149