60 years ago today, on 144 people, including 116 children, lost their lives in one of the most appalling disasters in British history. At Aberfan, a mountain of coal waste - 150,000 tonnes of liquefied slurry moving at speeds up to 80 mph - saturated by heavy rain, engulfed Pantglas Junior School & nearby homes. It was the last school day before half-term. Children who had left home that morning never returned. It was a catastrophic failure of the state. An official public inquiry placed the blame entirely on the National Coal Board (NCB). The subsequent inquiry condemned its “bungling ineptitude”. Yet not a single NCB official was prosecuted, fined or dismissed. 144 lives lost and not one individual held legally accountable. 60 years later, how much has really changed? Public inquiries remain difficult to secure, particularly when their findings risk embarrassing those in power. Too often, governments appear more concerned with managing reputational damage than confronting the real-life suffering of those failed by the institutions meant to protect them. Worse still, those responsible for institutional failures can emerge financially secure, rewarded with generous severance arrangements & pensions, while victims & their families are left to live with the consequences. Too often, protecting reputations comes before taking responsibility. As we remember the innocent victims, & the children buried on the hillside overlooking Aberfan, we must also remember the uncomfortable truth: this was a state-sponsored disaster, & those responsible escaped personal accountability. We must never forget the victims. Nor must we forget the failures that cost them their lives.