[104], Taylor concluded his criticism of South Yorkshire Police by describing senior officers in command as "defensive and evasive witnesses" who refused to accept any responsibility for error: "In all some 65 police officers gave oral evidence at the Inquiry. The 350 passengers arrived at the ground at about 2:20pm. A service led by the Right Reverend James Jones, the Bishop of Liverpool, was attended by past and present Liverpool players, including Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and Alan Hansen. Jones stated that minutes after the disaster, Duckenfield "deceitfully and dishonestly" told senior FA officials that the supporters had forced the gate open. Transcripts of the proceedings and evidence that was produced during the hearings were published at the Hillsborough Inquests official website. As a result of the stadium layout and segregation policy, turnstiles that would normally have been used to enter the North Stand from the east were off-limits and all Liverpool supporters had to converge on a single entrance at Leppings Lane. "[220] A gospel choir performed and the ceremony ended with a rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone". Part of this flawed psychological state is that they cannot accept that they might have made any contribution to their misfortunes, but seek rather to blame someone else for it, thereby deepening their sense of shared tribal grievance against the rest of society. What he has got to understand is that we were speaking the truth for 23 years and apologies have only started to come today from them because of yesterday. [187] The inquiry was first headed by former Durham Chief Constable Jon Stoddart, and later by Assistant Commissioner Rob Beckley. followed in April 2017 on the eve of the 28th anniversary of the disaster after a column by Kelvin MacKenzie concerning Everton footballer Ross Barkley. Representatives of the 96 victims of the disaster stated that they would be asking for an independent review of the decision under the Right to Review Scheme. Share page. The city of Liverpool will today remember the 96 football fans who died at Hillsborough stadium, 30 years to the day since the disaster. . A third legal case which resulted from the Hillsborough disaster was Airedale N.H.S. Fans' behaviour, to the extent that it was relevant at all, made the job of the police, in the crush outside Leppings Lane turnstiles, harder than it needed to be. Ofcom also received 177 complaints. Although there was enough evidence to charge the farrier with perverting the course of justice, it was felt not to be in the public interest to charge him. They did not seek endless further inquiries. I do not consider that there is any material which should be put before the Director of Public Prosecutions or the Police Complaints Authority which might cause them to reconsider the decisions they have already taken.
Hillsborough disaster - Wikipedia We said it was the truth - it wasn't for that we're deeply ashamed and profoundly sorry". [13] They ruled that the supporters were unlawfully killed owing to grossly negligent failures by police and ambulance services to fulfil their duty of care. Mackenzie reportedly spent two hours deciding on which headline to run; his original instinct being for "You Scum" before eventually deciding on "The Truth". [226] The ceremony was attended by survivors of the disaster, families of victims and the Liverpool team, with goalkeeper Pepe Reina leading the team and management staff onto the pitch. Is there, perhaps, a lesson there for the Hillsborough campaigners? [99] However, on the day of the disaster, "by 2:52pm when gate C was opened, pens 3 and 4 were over-full [] to allow any more into those pens was likely to cause injuries; to allow in a large stream was courting disaster". They always believed in us. It emphasised the general situation at Hillsborough was satisfactory compared with most grounds. After an initial rush, thousands of supporters entered the stadium "steadily at a fast walk". [317], On 20 May 1989, five weeks after the disaster, Channel 4's After Dark programme broadcast an extended live discussion called "Football The Final Whistle?".
Representation Construction: The Hillsborough Disaster Hillsborough Disaster - YouTube [98], There was no means for calculating when individual enclosures had reached capacity. 15 April 1989. [4] Private prosecutions brought by the Hillsborough Families Support Group against Duckenfield and his deputy Bernard Murray failed in 2000. 26 April 2016. Fans outside could hear cheering as the teams came on the pitch ten minutes before the match started, and as the match kicked off, but could not gain entrance. [55] Elsewhere on the same day, a silenceopened with an air-raid siren at three o'clockwas held in central Nottingham with the colours of Forest, Liverpool and Wednesday adorning Nottingham Council House. trying to usher myself and my husband out . [80] Andrew Devine, who was 22 at the time of the disaster, died in 2021 at the age of 55. Two British stage plays also dealt with the disaster with different view points: On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. An eight-foot-high clock, dating from the 1780s, was installed at, A memorial plaque dedicated to the 96 at Goodison Park in Liverpool, home of local rivals. With the imminent release of police documents relating to events on 15 April 1989, the Hillsborough Family Support Group launched Project 96, a fundraising initiative on 1 August 2009. The Spectator's comments were widely circulated following the April 2016 verdict by the Hillsborough inquest's second hearing proving unlawful killing of the 96 dead at Hillsborough. In March 1997just before the eighth anniversary of the disasterit was reported he had emerged from the condition and was able to communicate using a touch-sensitive pad, and he had been showing signs of awareness of his surroundings for up to three years before. [125] The report concluded that the then Conservative MP for Sheffield Hallam, Irvine Patnick, passed inaccurate and untrue information from the police to the press. Nobody really had any comment on itthey just took one look and went away shaking their heads in wonder at the enormity of it. In all but one case, the jury recorded the time of death as later than the 3:15pm cut-off point adopted by the coroner at the original inquests. Everything was against us. Popper said this was because the victims were either dead, or brain dead, by 3:15pm. The record was produced by Stock Aitken Waterman and featured Liverpool musicians Paul McCartney, Gerry Marsden (of the Pacemakers), Holly Johnson, and The Christians. Another psychiatric injury claim was brought to the House of Lords, White v Chief Constable of the South Yorkshire Police [1999] 2 A.C. 455. It is believed that an exit gate was opened to relieve crowds outside the turnstiles, which allowed over . [271], In February 2017, Liverpool F.C. [302], In October 2011, Sir Oliver Popplewell, who had chaired the public inquiry into the 1985 Bradford City stadium fire at Valley Parade that killed 56 people, called on the families of the Hillsborough victims to look at the "quiet dignity and great courage relatives in the West Yorkshire city had shown in the years following the tragedy". [64], In May 1989, a charity version of the Gerry and the Pacemakers song "Ferry Cross the Mersey" was released in aid of those affected. Among the guests were bereaved father James Delaney and his wife Eileen, who said "they didnt give the poor people who were killed any dignity . A seven-foot-high circular bronze memorial was unveiled in the Old Haymarket district of Liverpool in April 2013. [192] On 29June 2018, a ruling was made that Duckenfield would be prosecuted on the manslaughter charges. The report stated that placing fans who were "merely unconscious" on their backs rather than in the recovery position, would have resulted in their deaths due to airway obstruction. Andrew Devine, aged 22 at the time of the disaster, suffered similar injuries to Tony Bland and was also diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state. [128], The evidence it released online included altered police reports. In memory of 96 people, that have lost their lives.song: ''Denez Prigdent & Lisa Gerrard - Gortoz A Ran'' ", "Report summary (Page 14 of 14): Summary of Chapter 12: Behind the headlines: the origins, promotion and reproduction of unsubstantiated allegations", "Hillsborough disaster: new inquest likely after damning report", "Hillsborough files: Report raises spectre of criminal cases and shaming", "Report summary (Page 5 of 14): Summary of Chapter 3: Custom, practice, roles, responsibilities", "Hillsborough Disaster Report Published Wednesday 12 September", "Hillsborough statement: Cameron and Miliband apologise", "Kelvin MacKenzie offers 'profuse apologies' over Hillsborough", "Hillsborough families demand new inquests be held", "New Hillsborough inquest likely after damning report", "Hillsborough families call for FA apology over disaster", "Hillsborough report: FA could face charges, lawyers tell Liverpool fans' families", "Hillsborough: Sheffield Wednesday and police urged to admit blame", "Premier League chairman must resign, says Hillsborough support group", "Hillsborough: home secretary says law-breakers must face investigation", "Hillsborough: Norman Bettison resigns from West Yorkshire police", "Hillsborough: police chief 'boasted' of role in smearing fans", "Hillsborough: Football fans' behaviour made police's job harder, says Sir Norman Bettison", "Bettison due 83k-a-year pension despite Hillsborough probe", "Hillsborough inquests: Jury reaches decision on unlawful killing question", "Hillsborough disaster: Fans unlawfully killed", "Hillsborough inquest verdicts quashed by High Court", "Margaret Aspinall: I am so grateful to the people of Liverpool", "Tears of joy as inquest jury exonerates the 96 Hillsborough victims", "Hillsborough inquests: Reaction to unlawful killing conclusion", "Hillsborough inquest suggests police 'should be prosecuted', "Calls for prosecutions after 'greatest miscarriage of justice of our times', "Labour Party: 'Greatest miscarriage of justice of our times', "Jack Straw expresses regret over failure of Hillsborough review", "Jack Straw on 1997 Hillsborough inquiry: 'I wish I could turn the clock back', "Kelvin MacKenzie is still blaming other people for S*n's shameful front page", "Watch ex-S*n editor Kelvin MacKenzie squirm as he's chased by cameraman", "Freemason police officers tried to 'shift blame' after Hillsborough disaster, inquest told", "Hillsborough: David Duckenfield was in same Masons lodge as officer he replaced", "Hillsborough tragedy: Did the Freemasons influence the Police? The Liverpool manager, Rafael Bentez, set 96 balloons free. [149][150] Upon receiving the April 2016 verdict, Hillsborough Family Support Group chair Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James was killed in the disaster, said:[151][152][153]. It was performed by Lord Justice Stuart-Smith. This game was Liverpool's first appearance on the football field since the disaster two weeks earlier. [32], Meanwhile, Hillsborough was accepted as the FA Cup semi-final venue on 20 March 1989 by the Football Association. [115] Falconer added: "It made the families in the Hillsborough disaster feel after one establishment cover-up, here was another. A quotation, attributed to an unnamed policeman, claimed a partially unclothed dead girl had been verbally abused, and that Liverpool fans were "openly urinating on us and the bodies of the dead". [60][61], A disaster appeal fund was set up with donations of 500,000 from the UK Government, 100,000 from Liverpool F.C. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the two standing-only central pens in the Leppings Lane stand allocated to Liverpool supporters. In total, ninety-seven people died as a result of injuries incurred during the disaster. [257] In 1993, he told a House of Commons committee, "I regret Hillsborough. A 20 minute video of the disaster in Windows Media Player format. Candles were lit for each of the 96 people who died. [221], The event was remembered with a ceremony at Anfield attended by over 28,000 people. Some ambulance crew did take equipment when they left their vehicle, but there was no systematic direction to do so, not all did, and none initially had been given any information about the situation inside the stadium. [94] Attention was focused on the decision to open the secondary gates; moreover, the kick-off should have been delayed, as had been done at other venues and matches. This left planning for the semi-final match to Duckenfield, who had never commanded a sell-out football match before, and who had "very little, if any" training or personal experience in how to do so. [247], The information was provided to the newspaper by Whites News Agency in Sheffield;[248] the newspaper cited claims by police inspector Gordon Sykes, that Liverpool fans had pickpocketed the dead,[249] as well as other claims by unnamed police officers and local Conservative MP Irvine Patnick. Hillsborough disaster, incident in which a crush of football (soccer) fans ultimately resulted in 97 deaths and hundreds of injuries. People presenting tickets at the wrong turnstiles and those who had been refused entry could not leave because of the crowd behind them and remained as an obstruction. 'Why us? [42] People entering were unaware of the problems at the fence; police or stewards usually stood at the entrance to the tunnel and, when the central pens reached capacity, directed fans to the side pens, but on this occasion, for reasons not fully explained, they did not. [46]:149[47][48][49][50] The remaining 39 ambulances were collectively able to transport approximately 149 people to either Northern General Hospital, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, or Barnsley Hospital for treatment. [216] Following on from (and out of respect for) the Hillsborough families' decision to conclude official memorials at Anfield with a final service in 2016,[217] it was decided not to hold any further memorials at Spion Kop. [148][306] Following continued criticism of Crompton in the wake of the unlawful killing verdict, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Billings suspended Crompton from duty on 27April 2016. The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester United players showed respect by wearing black armbands during their Champions League quarter-final matches on 14 and 15 April 2009. Former Sheffield Wednesday F.C. The jury found they did not contribute to the danger unfolding at the turnstiles at the Leppings. Twenty-three years ago I was handed a piece of copy from a reputable news agency in Sheffield, in which a senior police officer and a senior local MP were making serious allegations against fans in the stadium. Hundreds of people were pressed against one another and the fencing by the weight of the crowd behind them. It has taken more than two decades, 400,000 documents and a two-year inquiry to discover to my horror that it would have been far more accurate had I written the headline The Lies rather than The Truth. Crowd safety was "compromised at every level" and overcrowding issues had been recorded two years earlier. [282][pageneeded] A number of complaints were made to the Press Council concerning the article, but the Council ruled that it was unable to adjudicate on comment pieces, though the Council noted that tragedy or disaster is not an occasion for writers to exercise gratuitous provocation. [103], Regarding the decision to allocate Liverpool spectators to the West and North Ends, Taylor stated "I do not consider choice of ends was causative of the disaster. [29] Leeds were assigned the Leppings Lane end.
Police 'got away with' Hillsborough safety before disaster, inquest [118], In the years after the disaster, the Hillsborough Family Support Group had campaigned for the release of all relevant documents into the public domain. Many uninjured fans assisted the injured; several attempted CPR and others tore down advertising hoardings to use as stretchers. Williams was portrayed by Maxine Peake, whose performance was described in The Guardian as "almost unwatchably intense".[327]. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number 1 on 20May, and remained at the top of the chart for three weeks. For some time, problems at the front of the Liverpool central goal pens went largely unnoticed except by those inside them and a few police at that end of the pitch. Duckenfield was not required to appear as the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) needed to apply to the High Court to lift a court order before he could be prosecuted on the manslaughter charges. [111], In May 1997, when the Labour Party came into office, Home Secretary Jack Straw ordered an investigation. Over 4,000 were still outside, crammed tightly around the turnstiles and in the holding area. 's The Den being the first new stadium to be built that fulfilled the recommendations. [299], Fans of rival clubs[300] have been known to chant about the Hillsborough disaster at football matches, in order to upset Liverpool fans.
Hillsborough disaster: A pervading sense of history repeating itself