Steve Rotheram MP pays tribute to 'inspiration'

Anne Williams’ passing is a painful reminder of the families’ long and arduous fight for justice. My sincere hope is that after a battle that demanded too much of her time and energy, Anne is now at peace with the son that was taken from her in April 1989.

Hillsborough continues to be an enormous cross to bear for any of the families or survivors connected to that fateful day. The truth is, many of us will never know the physical, emotional and psychological toll that being involved with one of the greatest injustice in living memory.

For many observers in Britain, Anne’s story is the most well known as we have long been aware that her son Kevin was alive well past the 3.15pm cut off and that with a proper emergency plan deployed, he could have been saved.

For all almost a quarter of a century, the fight for truth and justice became the work of Anne’s life. She was routinely let down by an establishment hell bent on protecting themselves rather than protecting the families.

Kevin’s last word before he died on the pitch at Hillsborough was “Mum”. Anne’s relentless pursuit of justice for her son personified the unyielding bond of a mother’s love for her child. She was an inspiration to thousands of women across Merseyside and Britain.

Despite her cruelly timed death today, Anne’s story, like that of so many other families, continues to give me the resolve to fight for the 96 every single day that I am in parliament.

In a week that saw the funeral of a woman described as the ‘Iron Lady’, Liverpool will mourn the loss of a real woman of steely determination.