'˜South Yorkshire must not be penalised for disaster' - Blunkett

The Labour peer, formerly an MP for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, said costs associated with further investigations into the disaster should not affect those living in the region, including the ability of South Yorkshire Police to carry out its duties. Lord Blunkett recalled how many people from the area cared for Liverpool fans after a fatal crush killed 96 of them during an FA Cup semi-final at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium.

But he said a “fitting tribute” would be to ensure the people of Merseyside receive justice and the truth while South Yorkshire residents are not affected by events which took place in 1989.

The remarks were made after peers heard Home Secretary Theresa May’s response to the latest Hillsborough inquest, in which a jury concluded the deaths of 96 Liverpool supporters were caused by the police, and that they were unlawfully killed. Lord Blunkett said he was a new MP for the area covering the Hillsborough stadium in 1989, adding he is now married to a doctor who was a volunteer in Sheffield hospitals on the evening of the tragedy.

He commended the families and others for “seeking and gaining the truth and looking for justice”.

Lord Blunkett added to Home Office Minister Lord Ahmad: “In dealing with the immediate future, it will surely be crucial that the people of South Yorkshire, many of whom played a signal part on that day in taking people into their homes, who used their landlines, those people should not now pay the penalty of costs arising out of further investigational work on top of the costs that have been incurred.”