Hillsborough trauma 'could be avoided' under new plans to help families of disaster victims

Exclusive: Government to consider independent Public Advocate to provide support through a public inquiry or inquest

The inquests into the 1989 Hillsborough disaster are currently reviewing evidence (PA)

A plan to help the families of disaster victims avoid the trauma suffered by relatives of the 96 football fans who died at Hillsborough is to be considered by the Government.

Under a Bill expected to be given a second reading in the House of Lords on Friday, a state-funded, independent Public Advocate would be appointed to act for bereaved families after a public disaster. The Advocate would support them through official processes such as a public inquiry or inquest.

The Advocate would have the power to set up a review panel like the Hillsborough Panel, which won the trust of the relatives of the Liverpool fans who died at the 1989 tragedy and ensured disclosure of crucial documents held by public bodies. It findings suggested that 41 of the 96 killed in the crush might have survived if they had received earlier medical treatment.

The Private Member's Bill will be introduced by Labour peer Michael Wills, a former Justice Minister. He has held talks with ministers including Michael Gove, the Justice Secretary, who is understood to be “highly sympathetic” the measure's aims. Although the backbench Bill is unlikely to become law due to lack of parliamentary time, the Government could promise its own legislation.

That would allow ministers to announce action following the inquests into the how the 96 people died at the FA Cup Semi Final in Sheffield. Sir John Goldring, the Coroner, told the jury this week to consider whether David Duckenfield, the police chief in charge of the operation, caused the deaths by gross negligence manslaughter.The jury is due to retire to start its deliberations on or around 22 February.

Writing for The Independent, Lord Wills, who set up the Hillsborough Panel as Justice Minister in 2009, said: “It took two decades of dignified, indomitable campaigning by the families to discover what really happened; two decades of campaigning against official indifference and smears against the victims. So many families bereaved in other public disasters still remain excluded from official processes, with the truth about what happened to their loved ones still concealed from them.”

Under his Bill, the Public Advocate would act for bereaved families if they requested it. To ensure the Government did not to ignore the Advocate’s work, he or she would make an annual report issued to Parliament. That would put pressure on ministers to release documents.

David Blunkett, the former Home Secretary who was MP Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough before joining the Lords last year, is supporting the measure. He said: “This would avoid the kind of trauma that that the families have gone through after Hillsborough and other disasters such as Lockerbie. It has been a nightmare for them, trying to battle the system on their own. We shouldn’t have to rely on tenacious families to suffer heartache.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “The needs of those injured or bereaved by a major incident are paramount and we recognise it can be especially difficult for families to understand the process. Significant reforms introduced in 2013 mean coroners must now fully support bereaved people throughout their investigations to make sure they know what is happening and why. This helps ensure those who have been bereaved can be confident the process is fair and transparent. We will consider whether anything further can be done to strengthen existing procedures in inquests and inquiries.”

Under the 2009 Coroners and Justice Act, implemented in 2013, bereaved people have the right to request most documents involved in the Coroner's investigation and inquest and can expect the Coroner’s Office to update them at regular intervals.