South Yorkshire police officers felt that the official Taylor report about how 96 people died at Hillsborough in 1989 levelled an unfair portion of blame at them and they sought to “redress the balance” by emphasising that Liverpool supporters were misbehaving, the new inquest into the disaster has heard.
Paul Middup, at the time joint branch secretary of the South Yorkshire Police Federation, confirmed that he agreed to contact the Conservative MP Michael Shersby, who advised the federation, to make sure that in a parliamentary debate Shersby “mentioned the drinking of Liverpool football club supporters was contributable [sic] to the tragedy”.
Questioned by Michael Mansfield QC, representing 75 families whose relatives died in the crush on Hillsborough’s Leppings Lane terrace at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, Middup repeatedly denied that he acted as the “mouthpiece” of the force to blame supporters.
In a Police Federation meeting four days after the disaster, on 19 April 1989, the minutes record that the South Yorkshire police chief constable, Peter Wright, said: “If anybody should be blamed it should be the drunken, ticketless individuals.”
Middup said he was not following that line on behalf of the force, but that junior officers had told him immediately after the disaster that Liverpool supporters had been drinking and misbehaved at the match. He gave a series of media interviews, including to the Sun and Daily Mail and on television, in which he alleged that Liverpool supporters outside the Leppings Lane terraces had been “tanked up” on drink.
The inquest has heard that at 2.52pm, to relieve congestion outside the Leppings Lane turnstiles, police ordered a large exit gate to be opened, allowing large numbers of supporters in. The incoming fans were not directed away from the central pens of the terrace, and that is where the fatal crush took place.
Middup alleged in his press interviews that fans had come in like a “mob”, and that if police officers had attempted to direct them they would have been “trampled to death”. Terry Munyard, representing three bereaved families, put to Middup that television footage showed that to have been untrue. Middup said he relied on what officers told him and did not check it himself.
Middup told the press at the time that the supporters already inside the ground were the ones crushed to death, after the fans outside were allowed through the gate.
“We have seen the press reports after the 16th [April],” Mansfield said. “It’s quite clear from all of those reports that you are in fact blaming fans aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Middup replied, “but not on behalf of the chief constable.”
Middup told the inquest on his first day of evidence on Thursday that he never realised that some of those who died – he was told the current finding was 30 of the 96 victims – in fact had been in the crowd outside at 2.52pm, and come in through the opened exit gate.
“They weren’t drunk,” Mansfield said to Middup, “they weren’t ticketless, they weren’t part of a marauding mob and they weren’t late when they turned up.”
“I didn’t know until yesterday,” Middup responded.
Mansfield pointed Middup to the report of Lord Justice Taylor, published in August 1989, which found that “at least 16, probably 21” of the victims had come through the gate. Middup agreed he had read the Taylor report in full, but said of that finding: “Whether I didn’t take proper notice of that particular part I don’t know, but I swear to you I did not know until yesterday. That is the truth. Perhaps I should have done, but I didn’t.”
After the publication of the Taylor report, Middup confirmed, he attended a meeting with Shersby, at which officers were told the MP had the opportunity to “redress the balance”. The inquest heard that Shersby told the home secretary at the time, Douglas Hurd, that South Yorkshire police officers “felt that they had been shouldered with an unfair portion of the blame”.
The minutes of the meeting record Norman Bettison, then a South Yorkshire police chief inspector, telling officers they had the opportunity to “present more balance” to the Taylor report’s findings. Bettison explained that certain items of police evidence presented to the Taylor inquiry had not been used because they were considered to be conjecture or opinion. The example Bettison gave was a description of Liverpool fans: “They were all animals.”
At the conclusion of the meeting, Shersby told the officers: “I am very unhappy and disturbed police officers feel so strongly about the inquiry. It is a very unsatisfactory state of affairs and you have my assurance that I will remedy it.”
Mansfield said to Middup: “You hit back after the report; you wanted to rebalance the report.”
“We did want to rebalance the report,” Middup replied, “because our people were complaining they weren’t able to get over their views.”
The inquest in Warrington continues.
