Knowsley to bestow highest honour on Hillsborough campaigner Margaret Aspinall CBE

Margaret Aspinall.

Knowsley Council will award Knowsley resident, Margaret Aspinall CBE, with the Freedom of the Borough.

The honour – only given eight times in Knowsley’s history – will be awarded in recognition for Margaret’s tireless work in seeking justice for all those impacted by the Hillsborough disaster. It is the highest possible honour that Knowsley can award and is reserved for individuals or organisations that have provided ‘eminent’ service to the borough.

Margaret’s own son James was one of the 97 victims who lost their lives at Hillsborough and since his death – at the age of just 18 – Margaret has dedicated her life to campaigning for justice for victims and their families.

James Aspinall, who worked as a clerk in Liverpool, travelled to the game with a friend, Graham Wright, who also died.

Margaret said: "It feels very humbling and I can't describe it. It's not just about me. It is about everybody, the families, the people who supported the families for all of those years.

"I am so grateful to Knowsley for offering me this lovely honour and I am really proud but there are a lot of people who deserve it too.

"The people in Knowsley have been absolutely amazing. All I am is a mother of five children who has done what any other mother of any other parent would do for the love of their child. There are so many people within the group that deserve recognition for what they have achieved as well.

"What kept me going was the love for my son and the other families kept going for the love of their daughters, sons, fathers, mothers.

"Every one of them loved theirs as much a I loved mine and that is what kept us going and to hopefully change things for the good of the nation."

Margaret Aspinall, chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, was also awarded the CBE in 2015

Margaret's work to drive national policy change, with the introduction of the Hillsborough Law, is particularly significant as it will ensure that it will no longer be possible for the truth to be hidden from families and loved ones in the painful aftermath of tragedies like Hillsborough.

It will be the beginning of a special year for Margaret, and all the Hillsborough law campaigners. Having spent 35 years campaigning to ensure that “people shouldn’t have to fight for justice, justice should fight for people”, the legislation – they have helped to shape – will finally come into effect.

A memorial at Anfield for the Hillsborough disaster

The Hillsborough Law will officially be introduced ahead of the next anniversary of the disaster in April 2025, offering significant safeguards to future victims of major disasters. It will compel public bodies co-operate with investigations into major disasters or potentially face criminal sanctions.