THE TRUTH
The 96 people who died at Hillsborough at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on 15 April 1989 were unlawfully killed. That verdict, delivered today by the jury at the new inquest into the disaster, represents vindication for the bereaved families who fought for 27 years against South Yorkshire police claims that the behaviour of Liverpool supporters caused the tragedy – as well as against the 1991 verdict of accidental death.
The jurors had been told they could only reach the determination of unlawful killing if they were sure of four essential matters concerning the deaths. They had to be convinced that overall match commander Ch Supt David Duckenfield owed a duty of care to those who died; that he was in breach of that duty; that this breach of duty caused the deaths; and that it amounted to “gross negligence”. The jury reached their verdict of unlawful killing by a 7-2 majority. They also concluded:
• Planning errors “caused or contributed to” the dangerous situation.
• Senior officers failed to issue specific instructions on how crowds were to be managed at the Leppings Lane end.
• The response to the build-up of fans at the Leppings Lane end was “slow and uncoordinated”.
• Commanding officers failed to appreciate that ordering the opening of a gate would increase pressure in the terraces.
• Police and ambulance service caused or contributed to the loss of lives by errors or omissions.
• The design of the stadium contributed to the tragedy.
• Club officials should have requested the match be delayed.
After the key conclusions were delivered, someone in court shouted: “God bless the jury.” The jurors were also given a round of applause as they left the courtroom.
The chief constable of South Yorkshire police, David Crompton, has unreservedly apologised to the victims’ families. Speaking outside the force’s headquarters in Sheffield, he said: “On 15 April 1989, South Yorkshire police got the policing of the FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough catastrophically wrong … The force failed the victims and failed their families … I want to apologise unreservedly to the families and all those affected.”
Labour MP Andy Burnham, who has supported the families’ campaign, said: “This has been the greatest miscarriage of justice of our times, but, finally, it is over … Now comes accountability … People must be held to account for their actions. Prosecutions must follow.” The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn added: “All those that attended the semi-final 27 years ago were innocent victims and it is time that those who peddled those vile and malicious lies recognise the deep hurt they have inflicted on tens of thousands of innocent people – and are held to account.” David Cameron’s spokeswoman said the government would respond to the verdicts later in a written ministerial statement. She said: “Clearly, this has been one of the longest running legal cases in British history and we are going to need to take time to digest the verdict.”
Margaret Aspinall, one of the leading justice campaigners whose son James was one of the 96, said: “The fans should all go home and be proud of themselves, they are the heroes. They did nothing wrong that day and we did this for all of them too. Our city always gets brought down but yet again it’s the tough people of Liverpool who have had to fight a cause that was so unjust, so unfair. We’ve done it and we’ve won it and I’m proud of every single one of them. In the generic inquest under Dr Stefan Popper, when the jury came out with accidental death on 96 innocent people I wrote to him and said: ‘Don’t send me my son’s death certificate until I get the correct verdict on it.’ I can accept it now.”
