'My dad would have been 65 today, I can't think of a better way to honour him and all of the 97'

The daughter of a Liverpool fan who was killed at the Hillsborough disaster said she is proud that a new law will today set out by the Prime Minister on what would have been her dad's 65th birthday.

Charlotte Hennessy was just six when her dad Jimmy died having travelled to watch Liverpool play Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium on April 15 1989. He was one of 97 Reds fans who were unlawfully killed that day. The families of those who died have faced decades of lies, smears and state cover-ups as they battled for truth and justice for their loved ones.

Today, in his keynote speech to the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will spell out exactly how a new package of laws - known collectively as a Hillsborough Law - will become a reality, making good on a pledge he made in this same conference hall two years ago.

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Having committed to delivering a Hillsborough Law in his party's manifesto, the Prime Minister will say this is 'a law for Liverpool' and 'a law for the 97' as he makes clear what steps are now in motion to bring the new legislation in.

The government has now launched a recruitment process for the very first Independent Public Advocate to support victims in the wake of a major public disaster - a key pillar of a Hillsborough Law. The advocate will be deployed to the scene of any future public disaster, playing a pivotal role in ensuring victims, survivors, and bereaved families get the information and support they need.

The government has also confirmed it will introduce a legally-binding duty of candour on public servants and public authorities, with a range of with a range of sanctions for anyone who is found to have lied, mislead, or withheld information and including criminal sanctions for the most egregious breaches. This is one of the most crucial aspects of the Hillsborough Law in terms of stopping cover ups and lies from public officials.

Reacting to the news today, Ms Hennessy, now 42, told the ECHO: "Like with anything Hillsborough related, everything has been a hard slog over the years but I am really delighted. You do feel a sense of relief and a bit of pride. This is about changing things for the better and making sure others don't go through anything like what we have experienced and it is a legacy to the 97, so I am really pleased."

"This was the right thing to do because so many people from so many campaigns and backgrounds have always supported us in ensuring that we got truth and answers about what happened to our loved ones. What started with a handful of family members and survivors has now become a coalition of other people who have suffered at the hands of the state. The campaign for Hillsborough Law has brought us all together and we are united as one."

Ms Hennessy said she has been sceptical about the Prime Minister's promise in the past, not helped, she said, by his decision to speak with The S*n newspaper, particularly while at the conference in Liverpool, where the newspaper is boycotted because of its shameful smears of those who died in the 1989 disaster.

She added: "You are going to be cautious. I think with anything Hillsborough related we have to err on the side of caution because people have said they were going to do things and then backtracked on them.

"The Prime Minister has to mindful to ensure that at this stage families aren't pushed out. We do need to be involved in the legislative framework as it is compiled. We know what the Hillsborough Law that we have been campaigning for looks like. As a campaign group we would also call for regular meetings with civil servants to make sure we are all on the same page and moving forward together in this process."

Speaking about her dad Jimmy, Ms Hennessy added: "It is an emotional day, it is also one that makes you feel very proud. Today should have been my dad's 65th birthday, so instead of celebrating his birthday, we are celebrating another huge milestone in terms of his legacy and his truth.

"On the one hand I am telling my own children that today would have been their grandad's birthday and on the other hand we are telling them that this thing mum has been doing all this time is now being pushed through. This legislation is happening."

She added: "This is a legacy to the 97, for so many years their individual stories were silenced, many of them were buried within a lie. This is about making sure their legacy is never forgotten. They were individual people, fathers, mothers, brothers - and I couldn't think of a better way to honour them than this."

The Prime Minister will take to the main conference stage at around 2pm today. He is expected to say: "For many people in this city, the speech they may remember was the one here, two years ago. Because that was when I promised, on this stage, that if I ever had the privilege to serve our country as Prime Minister, one of my first acts would be to bring in a Hillsborough law – a duty of candour. A law for Liverpool. A law for the 97. A law that people should never have needed to fight so hard to get. But that will be delivered by this Labour Government.

"Today I can confirm that the duty of candour will apply to public authorities and public servants, that bill will include criminal sanctions, and that the Hillsborough law will be introduced to Parliament before the next anniversary in April.”

Elkan Abrahamson, solicitor at Broudie Jackson Canter and Director of the Hillsborough Law Campaign said: “We and all the families are delighted to hear the renewed commitment from the Prime Minister that a Hillsborough Law will be brought in by next April. However, there remains a lot of work to do to ensure a Hillsborough Law loses none of the effectiveness of the original bill (Public Authority (Accountability) Bill) first presented by Andy Burnham in 1997.

“The HLN campaign has grown significantly and is now a coalition of families bereaved by state failures who will not give up until they see the right act on the statute book. The campaign stands ready to assist the government in making this law a reality.”

Hillsborough Law campaign director Debbie Caine added: “Today should signal a turning point for the thousands of campaigners that have been denied truth and accountability by the state. So today we can afford to celebrate a hard fought achievement but tomorrow the work must start in making the law a reality."

The ECHO will be covering the Prime Minister's speech through a rolling live blog on our website.