YESTERDAY’S debate in the House of Commons about the full disclosure of the Hillsborough papers was extremely powerful.

Liverpool MP Steve Rotheram led the way, showing that although the disaster happened 22 years ago, emotions still run very raw in the great city that he represents.

And of course these papers should be released. Of course the families of the 96 victims should know how their loved ones died. In yesterday’s “debate”, no one argued otherwise.

Indeed, the debate changed very little.

This Government’s policy has, like the previous Government’s, been to release the papers. They need to be released in a meaningful way, but there are so many of them – about two million – it is a slow process. A panel chaired by the Bishop of Liverpool is overseeing the release.

Yesterday’s debate was the first fruit of the Government’s e-petition scheme. Any e-petition which gets over 100,000 signatories is considered for a Commons debate.

This is a gimmick, and the worry is that it can be manipulated by singleissue pressure groups.

However, the British people are wonderfully level-headed: there are currently 35,000 signatories calling for a debate on Britain leaving the European Union and 32,000 calling for Formula 1 motor racing to be kept on free-to-air television.

It is hard to see how a debate on either issue would cause the BBC – currently making 20 per cent cuts – to review its spending policy, or the Government to momentously reverse 40 years of history and leave the EU overnight.

Yet, before dismissing the e-petition as a worthless gimmick, yesterday did allow the fury of ordinary Liverpudlians to be vented and it did firmly send the message to the mandarins involved that there should be no delay.

It also sent a message that the truth will eventually come out, no matter what obfuscation lies in its way.

These must be seen as positive outcomes of the inaugural e-petition.