SALC hosts inaugural Mark George Memorial Lecture
Award-winning Guardian investigations correspondent David Conn gives a lecture on the Hillsborough justice campaign as part of his SALC Simon Industrial and Professional Fellowship activities.
The University of Manchester and Garden Court North Chambers hosted a lecture by award-winning Guardian journalist on the Hillsborough disaster, and the subsequent legal failings that led to a decades-long fight for justice. The sold-out event was introduced by Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.
The disaster, which occurred on Saturday 15 April 1989 at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, caused the deaths of 97 people and injuries to hundreds more, in a crush on the overcrowded terraces of Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough Stadium.
Despite the overwhelming evidence of negligence and safety failings, the South Yorkshire police blamed the victims, alleging that Liverpool supporters had misbehaved, a narrative amplified by parts of the media. Families fought for 21 years against the first inquest verdict of accidental death before it was finally quashed in 2012.
At the new inquest in 2016, the jury determined that the 97 people were unlawfully killed due to gross negligence by the police match commander, that there was a series of other failings by the police, emergency services and Sheffield Wednesday, and that no behaviour of supporters contributed to the disaster. Criminal prosecutions followed but resulted in only one conviction of the former Sheffield Wednesday club secretary, for a health and safety offence.
Guardian Investigations Correspondent David Conn, who won the Press Awards News Reporter of the Year in 2024, has covered the tragedy and the families’ fight for justice for nearly 30 years. His work helped to establish the Hillsborough Independent Panel, whose 2012 report led to the quashing of the first inquest verdict. Conn has also highlighted legal injustices like racial bias in ‘Joint Enterprise’ laws and systemic failures in accountability.
In his lecture on Thursday, 13 February, Conn discussed the legal failures that followed the disaster, and discuss the , the principal reform families are calling for which would impose a statutory duty of candour for police and public authorities, and ensure that victims of disasters or state related deaths have the funding for lawyers to represent them at inquests and inquiries. Human rights barrister Pete Weatherby KC, who has long advocated for Hillsborough Law, explained its purpose and provide a response to the lecture, with Anna Morris KC chairing the discussion.
This inaugural Mark George Memorial Lecture honoured the late Head of Garden Court North Chambers, who represented 22 Hillsborough families during the 2014-16 inquiry. George played a pivotal role as legal counsel for 22 families during the Hillsborough Inquiry (2014-16), helping uncover the truth after nearly three decades of struggle. The series honours his dedication to justice, education and advocacy.
The event also marked the launch of Conn’s Simon Industrial and Professional Fellowship, which will bring him together with experts from the university to advance research into fairness in legal processes and amplify voices impacted by injustice.