An original inquest into the fire in 1982 lasted only five days and recorded the cause of the deaths in accordance with medical evidence, with no reference to the circumstances or the cause of the fire.

His research includes the investigation of and inquiry into controversial deaths, most notably the Hillsborough disaster on 15 April 1989 in which 97 football fans were crushed to death. [1] He has also researched deaths in custody, the marginalisation and criminalisation of children and young people, the politics of imprisonment, and the analysis of disasters and their impact on the bereaved and survivors. [2] Early life and education [ edit ] In 2016 the Mayor of Liverpool announced that Phil Scraton was to be awarded the Freedom of the City of Liverpool for his long-term work, spanning three decades, supporting the families' campaign for justice. He received the award in September 2016. Two months later, along with Margaret Aspinall, Chair of the Hillsborough Independent Panel, he was awarded Campaigner of the Year by the Political Studies Association. [ citation needed] Challenges by bereaved families and survivors were dismissed as “maudlin indignation”, a “kneejerk reaction” that was a byproduct of “a city wallowing in the past”. The outcry from the bereaved, survivors, players, Liverpool and Nottingham councillors and MPs was intense. Clough, however, did “not regret what I said – Liverpool people killed Liverpool people”.

He was a member of the "Hillsborough Independent Panel" (2010-2012) and primary author of Hillsborough: The Report of the Independent Panel (2012) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/229038/0581.pdf In 2017 he was awarded a Leverhulme Fellowship to research the project:‘“Justice for the 96”: From Campaign Mantra to Due Process'. The inquest is hearing from families, witnesses, and experts and is expected to take about six months. https://lawpod.org/podcast/treated-with-contempt/ Treated with Contempt – The UEFA Champions League Final Debacle Scraton said he appreciated his decision “might come as a disappointment to some Hillsborough families, survivors and whoever nominated me,” the BBC said. Funded in 1989 for three years the Project was based at Edge Hill University. It published two major reports, Coleman, S., Jemphrey, A., Scraton, P and Skidmore, P Hillsborough and After: The Liverpool Experience (Liverpool City Council, 1990) and Scraton, P., Jemphrey, A and Coleman, S No Last Rights: The Denial of Justice and the Promotion of Myth in the Aftermath of the Hillsborough Disaster (Alden Press/ Liverpool City Council, 1995).

He is co-author of reports for the NI Commissioner for Children and Young People (Children’s Rights) and the NI Human Rights Commission (Women in Prison). He was appointed to the Liberty Advisory Committee on deaths in custody and, more recently, a member of the JUSTICE Working Party into inquests and public inquiries. Having founded The Hillsborough Project in 1989 he co-authored two extensive reports on the disaster (1990 and 1995). In 2010 he was appointed to the Hillsborough Independent Panel and led its research team, based at Queen’s. In 2012 he was principal author the Panel’s ground-breaking report, Hillsborough, and was seconded to the families’ legal teams throughout the 2014-2016 inquests. Consultant on, and contributor to, the 2017 BAFTA winning ESPN/BBC documentary Hillsborough, he was awarded a Leverhulme Fellowship to consider the significance of the unique work of the Panel and the legal processes that followed. Finally after all these years - 42 years - the inquest is actually starting," Ms Keegan told BBC Radio Foyle's The North West Today.Prof Phil Scraton, who led the Hillsborough Independent Panel's research team, says the fresh inquest into the Stardust fire in Dublin is of "paramount importance" to the families of victims, survivors and “the people of Ireland”. Phil and his partner, Deena, have lived in Belfast since 2003. He has two grown-up sons from his first marriage. In 2009 an independent examination into the tribunal reported there was no evidence to support Justice Keane's finding that the fire was started deliberately near the ballroom of the nightclub. We have waited for this day for so long, but it is a disgrace it has taken us 42 years to get to this point," she said. The Rosemary Nelson Inquiry - This inquiry found no evidence that the British State (agencies) colluded to murder solicitor Rosemary Nelson but that the possibility of individual members of state agencies may have helped in the killing could not be ruled out. It was further found that the actions of state agencies increased the danger to Ms Nelson’s life and these agencies had failed to protect her.