Wirral youngsters to be educated on Hillsborough disaster (From Wirral Globe)

Wirral youngsters to be educated on Hillsborough disaster

11:17am Tuesday 16th October 2012 in News By Stephanie Cureton

WIRRAL youngsters will be educated on the truth about the Hillsborough disaster, it has been agreed.

Councillors unanimously voted to support a Conservative notice of motion to ask that local schools follow some Liverpool headteachers’ lead to introduce the issue into the curriculum.

It was agreed that the acting director of children’s services will be asked to meet with schools to discuss the matter further so future generations are clued up on the tragedy.

All political groups also welcomed the publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel’s report and supported the IPCC's recent announcement to investigate further into the actions of police officers on the day.

The call to echo Liverpool was being made by Wallasey Conservative councillor Paul Hayes, who also asked the chief executive to write on behalf of the council to the Hillsborough Families Support Group, the Hillsborough Justice Campaign and Hope for Hillsborough to express Wirral's "continued support for their campaigns for justice and thanking  them for their steadfast examples of courage and dignity."

The Hillsborough Independent Panel was set up by the Government to investigate the disaster.

On September 12, it published its report and simultaneously launched a website containing 450,000 pages of material collated from more than 80 organisations over two years.

The panel found 164 police statements were altered, 116 of them to remove or change "unfavourable" comments about policing of the match and the unfolding disaster.

Distressingly, it also concluded 41 of the 96 fans who lost their lives possibly could have been saved if the emergency services' response had been better co-ordinated.

Prime Minister David Cameron issued a profound apology in the House of Commons on the day the report was released.

Backing the notice of motion, Council leader Phil Davies said: "We will clearly be supporting the motion and we join in remembering the people who died at Hillsborough, including the 12 from Wirral.

"The Hillsborough Panel must be thanked but with the truth must come justice. We also support asking headteachers to consider how young people can learn so that future generations can know what truly happened on that day."