At Liverpool Life Sciences UTC, we are passionate about creating opportunities that place our students right in the heart of real-world issues. One of our students, Millie, recently had the opportunity to spend a day at the Houses of Parliament, shadowing legal professionals and engaging with MPs around a powerful and ongoing campaign; Hillsborough Law.
WHAT Is HIllsborough Law?
The "Hillsborough Law" is a proposed UK law aimed at ensuring greater transparency and accountability from public authorities and officials in the wake of major disasters or state-related deaths. It would introduce a statutory duty of candour, requiring them to act in the public interest and cooperate fully with investigations, including making full disclosure of relevant information and setting out their position from the outset. Breaches of this duty could result in criminal sanctions. Find out more here.
Millie is currently studying Sociology, Psychology and History A-Level and has been with us since 2020/2021 through our IGNITE Programme.
We sat down with Millie to learn more about her experience and how it’s shaped her aspirations in law and human rights. Here’s what she had to say.
Millie, can you tell us who you shadowed during the day?
"Elkan Ambrahamson worked on the 2016 Hillsborough inquest, which aimed to get the deaths of the 97 ruled as unlawful killings by the South Yorkshire Police. Elkan Abrahamson is a human rights and inquests solicitor. He's worked on Hillsborough, Grenfell, the Manchester bombings, things like that. And that’s what I want to go into: inquests and human rights law.
I shadowed him for the day at Parliament, as well as Pete Weatherby, who was the barrister on Hillsborough, and Ian Bryon, who is the MP for West Derby. We had a meeting with mainly Labour MPs, but also a few members of the House of Lords, discussing where Hillsborough Law is up to, why it hasn't been passed as legislation, and what’s blocking it.
The general idea behind Hillsborough Law is threefold: a duty of candour - meaning all public officials and institutions must tell the truth; they have to wilfully assist in inquests rather than just being investigated; and it levels the playing field so that people who want to sue public institutions or make enquiries against the government are entitled to the same level of legal representation. Because it’s not fair if the government gets the best lawyers and the families get nothing.
It all stems from Hillsborough. It was first introduced to Parliament in 2017 as the Public Accountability Bill, introduced by Andy Burnham, who's now the Mayor of Manchester. It’s currently being blocked in Parliament in favour of a different bill that seems to do the same thing but is more of a suggestion than something enforceable. So, MPs and the Hillsborough families and other affected families aren’t happy, because it’s not the same, even if it looks like it is."
That’s incredibly powerful. Can you walk us through what your day looked like? Where did you go and what did you get to see?
"I took the train down to London in the morning. I didn’t know, but there’s a building across the road from Parliament which is newer, so you go through there. I went through airport-style security, put my bag in the tray, got scanned, and all that. From that building, there’s a tunnel under the road that takes you into the actual Parliament building.
We walked through Westminster Abbey and saw the Queen’s grave. Then we went and got some lunch. You know the front of Parliament; if you’re looking at it from over the river with Big Ben on your right; that whole front bit is a seating area where MPs have lunch. So we sat there, had lunch, great view, and got a picture.
At 3:00pm, we went into the meeting to discuss where the bill was up to. There were a lot of Scouse MPs; which was great. I expected everyone to be a lot more proper than they actually were. Everyone was really angry about it; really, really angry. And it was great to see them getting so riled up and caring so much. I thought they would just sit and nod along, but they didn’t; they cared. Even today, Paula Barker, MP for Wavertree, posted on Instagram saying, “This is not okay and anything less than Hillsborough Law is not good enough.”
What was it like observing the professionals you were shadowing?
"It was interesting to see the way the solicitor I shadowed carries himself in meetings; and also to see how everyone else did. The general atmosphere was really genuine and passionate.
I learnt that even in situations where you feel like you have to act a certain way, it’s better to be authentic to your own opinions. Chances are, everyone else will support it. It also confirmed for me that I want to go into this field; human rights; inquests law; politics; because it’s really inspiring to see so many people care about those affected, even when it doesn’t affect them personally."
What’s the biggest takeaway from your day at Parliament?
"That even after all these years, people are still fighting. Hillsborough happened a long time ago, but they recognise that public institutions keep making the same mistakes. It’s still hurting people, still affecting families, and even though it doesn’t affect these MPs or solicitors personally, they care; and they want to make a difference. I think that’s really inspiring. I want to help make that change for good."
Millie’s passion for justice and her drive to make a difference are exactly the kind of qualities we’re proud to foster at Life Sciences UTC. We can’t wait to see where her journey takes her next.