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Hillsborough campaigners say Monday marks a milestone in their journey as new inquests into the 96 deaths begin.

Chairwoman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group Margaret Aspinall said the families had a sense of trepidation as the new inquests into the deaths at the FA Cup semi-final in 1989 start in Warrington.

Sheila Coleman, from the Hillsborough Justice Campaign, said the start of the hearings was a “historic day”.

The hearings were ordered after accidental death verdicts from the original inquests were quashed in the High Court in 2012.

They are expected to last at least until Christmas.

Mrs Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died in the disaster, said: “It’s nice to be able to get to the start of these inquests.

“It has been a terribly long journey and hopefully this is the beginning of the end of it. I feel like I’ve given my whole life to this.”

She added: “The inquests are going to be very, very difficult – not just for the families but for the survivors who have suffered a lot.

“It is an awful thing to go through but it is something we have to go through to get the whole truth.

“The only thing I hope and pray is the families get some peace at the end of it and have truth, transparency and honesty.

“That’s all we’ve ever wanted and hopefully we will get peace for families and survivors.”

She said today marked a new stage for families: “It’s like we are starting on another journey.

“It’s not been an easy journey, it’s been 25 years, and this one will be even harder.

“A lot of families are older and a lot are sick.

“When this started I was a young woman with a young family, now I’m an old woman with grandchildren my son didn’t even get to see.

“People ask how old would James be now and that hurts because he’d have been older now than I was when we lost him.”

Ms Coleman added: “The new inquests mark the strength of the fight of those who have campaigned for so many years.

“Today will have a great significance to a lot of people.

“It is almost 25 years since the disaster and for 20 plus years people have fought for new inquests.”

She added: “Today is a milestone in a very long battle, a battle that has been waged for so many years.

“It’s a new phase that we would never have got to, only for the fight we’ve put up over many years.

“What it symbolises is people power against all odds.”

Paying tribute to those who were not able to be there to see the inquests start, she said: “People have suffered along the way and we have lost many good people who have fought for these inquests.

“As someone who attended the original inquests and worked closely with those campaigning, I will be thinking of those who have sadly passed away, in particular John Glover, Anne Williams and Terry Burkett – three parents who fought for the truth.”

Mrs Aspinall said: “We have already lost a lot of families I know quite a few are unwell but are determined to be there on Monday.

“I pray to God to let them see this through.

“Even me, I’m an old woman now, please let me see the end of this so I can say to my son when I do meet him again – we did our best.”

Ms Coleman said that the inquests would be very difficult for the families.

She said: “It is like putting your head down and walking into the wind.

“You just get on with it, which is what we have done for so many years, and we really did face a gale force wind for many years.

“Every time we got blown back we would start walking again and we will continue walking.

“The families have suffered – they are battle scarred now.”

She added: “The families have every right to go into court with their heads held up high and feel proud, as should the survivors who were so much a part of the fight.

“I think everybody today should feel a sense of satisfaction that they played some role in getting to this stage.”

Mrs Aspinall thanked the people of Liverpool for their support of the families.

She said: “I look at our city as a whole – not just the club, Everton fans as well, the whole city and everybody who has supported families for all these years..

“Without them families couldn’t have stood up and done this.

“No matter what transpires at the end of this journey with their support we know people will always remember the 96.”

She added: “People say to me, honestly, do you think you’ll get what you want, do you think we’ll get the whole truth?

“I can’t answer that.

“All I know is that’s what we’re fighting for, not just for our loved ones but for the 24,000 fans who were there – they deserve the truth, they all deserve the truth.”

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