#Hillsborough vindication '˜will bolster NI families seeking truth'

A relative holds a photo of Ian Thomas Glover, who died in the Hillsborough disaster, while they are hugged outside the Hillsborough Inquest in Warrington, where the inquest jury concluded that the 96 Liverpool fans who died in the Hillsborough disaster were unlawfully killed. (Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)

Mr McCann, author of ‘Bloody Sunday in Derry: What Really Happened?’ was speaking after the Hillsborough Inquest returned its verdict on Tuesday.

The jury in Warrington concluded that the 96 Liverpool fans who died in the Hillsborough disaster were unlawfully killed.

As well as the dead, the Hillsborough disaster left 766 people injured.

The fans had been attending the FA Cup semi-final football match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield, on April 15, 1989 when the horrific events unfolded.

Mr McCann said: “The success of the families of the 96 Liverpool fans crushed to death in the Hillsborough disaster will add strength to all still seeking justice for their loved ones here in the North.

“Members of the Liverpool families and the Bloody Sunday families have attended each other’s events over the years.

“Last year, one of the leaders of the Liverpool campaign, Professor Phil Scraton, gave a talk at the Bloody Sunday Weekend on the parallel searches for the truth. No-one present is likely to forget it.

“Each campaign primarily depended on itself, but was able to take inspiration from the other.

The hundreds of families here still waiting for the truth should likewise take heart from the Hillsborough verdict. We will get there together. We never walk alone when we pursue the truth.”