Holes in the perimeter fencing were made by fans desperately attempting to rescue others. It added:. [191] The ruling also noted that the original statements had neither been destroyed, nor had they been ordered to be destroyed. 'stelling them to ban FHM. I bent down to kiss and talk to [my son] and as we stood up there was a policeman who came from behind me . Hillsborough first aired in the US on 15April 2014, the 25th anniversary of the disaster. The death of two witnesses and contradictions in the evidence of others were cited as part of the reason for the decision. [110] The majority of victims who died were from Liverpool (37) and Greater Merseyside (20). 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. In April 2016, a private prosecution was launched on behalf of victims' relatives against both SYP and the West Midlands Police force (who had investigated the actions of SYP), alleging a concerted cover-up designed to shift blame away from the police. [85], One of the individual cases where the circumstances of death were not fully resolved was that of Kevin Williams, the fifteen-year-old son of Anne Williams. Ruling on Submissions of No Case to Answer", "Lack of Hillsborough accountability is a scandal, says minister", "Hillsborough families attack 'ludicrous' acquittals of police", "Hillsborough families to sue police for 'abuse on industrial scale', "Hillsborough: Police forces agree cover-up compensation for victims", "Hillsborough memorial returns to Anfield", "Anfield memorial updated in honour of 97th victim of Hillsborough", "Hillsborough memorial clock unveiled at Liverpool Town Hall", "Everton FC to unveil tribute to Hillsborough 96 ahead of Merseyside derby", "Uefa to help Liverpool avoid Hillsborough clash", "Anfield's Hillsborough memorial service to be held for last time in April", "Football to remember Hillsborough disaster", "A minute's silence to remember Hillsborough", "Liverpool avoid Hillsborough anniversary clash", "Thousands flock to Anfield as Liverpool marks 20th anniversary of Hillsborough", "Hundreds mark Hillsborough anniversary in city", "Giggs showed that even in a cash-conscious age the game has moments which defy evaluation", "Milan vs Real Madrid Fans Sing You'll Never Walk Alone", "MP's tearful tribute to Hillsborough 96", "Hillsborough debate full transcript: Read everything MPs said in the House of Commons link to full video now added", "Hillsborough: 97th victim's family 'proud' of Freedom of Liverpool award", "Chapter 12: Behind the headlines: the origins, promotion and reproduction of unsubstantiated allegations (Page 3 of 10): 'The Truth', "The Immediate Aftermath The Media Reaction Hillsborough Football Disaster", "Is it time to forgive and forget Kelvin Mackenzie and the Sun over the lies they told about Hillsborough? September 2012 Hillsborough disaster report (7.25 megabytes), 1915 British football match-fixing scandal, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hillsborough_disaster&oldid=1141795975, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles in need of updating from January 2022, All Wikipedia articles in need of updating, Articles to be expanded from January 2022, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from December 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2023, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Christine Gifford, expert in the field of access to information. [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. was played at Celtic Park, Glasgow, between the home club and Liverpool. South Yorkshire coroner Dr Stefan Popper limited the main inquests to events up to 3:15pm on the day of the disasternine minutes after the match was halted and the crowd spilt onto the pitch. [243], On 19 April, four days after the disaster, Kelvin MacKenzie, editor of The Sun, ordered "The Truth" as the front-page headline, followed by three sub-headlines: "Some fans picked pockets of victims", "Some fans urinated on the brave cops" and "Some fans beat up PC giving kiss of life". [35], Three chartered trains transported Liverpool supporters to Sheffield for a match in 1988, but only one such train ran in 1989. [45], The agreed upon protocol for the South Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service (SYMAS) was that ambulances were to queue at the entrance to the gymnasium, termed the casualty reception point, or CRP. A Leeds fan described disorganisation at the turnstiles and no steward or police direction inside the stadium, resulting in the crowd in one enclosure becoming so compressed he was at times unable to raise and clap his hands. After the verdicts Barry Devonside, who had lost his son, witnessed Popper hosting a celebration party with police officers. No formal pleas were taken from the other four defendants. The prosecution argued that the crush was "foreseeable" hence the defendants were "grossly negligent". [5][6], The first coroner's inquests into the Hillsborough disaster, completed in 1991, concluded with verdicts of accidental death in respect of all the deceased. [1][4] The inquests also found that the design of the stadium contributed to the crush, and that supporters were not to blame for the dangerous conditions. [293], In November 2007, the BBC soap opera EastEnders caused controversy when the character Minty Peterson (played by Cliff Parisi) made a reference to the disaster. The occasion was the first in which the two teams had met since the 1985 Bradford City stadium fire that had claimed 56 lives at Valley Parade. The Hillsborough disaster touched not only Liverpool, but football clubs in England and around the world. [29] Leeds were assigned the Leppings Lane end. [179], On 12 July 2013, it was reported that the IPCC had found that in addition to the now 164 police statements known to have been altered, a further 55 police officers had changed their statements. Nor do I consider that there is any justification for setting up any further inquiry into the performance of the emergency and hospital services. . In addition to the "unlawful killing" verdict, the jury concluded that "errors or omissions" by police commanding officers, Sheffield Wednesday, the ambulance service and the design and certification of the stadium had all "caused or contributed" to the deaths, but that the behaviour of football supporters had not. Two further gates (A and B) were subsequently opened to relieve pressure. . [93] The two publications together became known as the Taylor Report.[6]. [197], On 13 March 2019, it was reported that Duckenfield would not be called to give evidence in his defence. A boycott of advertisers by American Liverpool fans eventually brought about an apology from him. About sharing . [252], The story accompanying The Sun headlines claimed "drunken Liverpool fans viciously attacked rescue workers as they tried to revive victims" and "police officers, firemen and ambulance crew were punched, kicked and urinated upon". [91], After the disaster, Lord Justice Taylor was appointed to conduct an inquiry into the events. In July 2021, a coroner ruled that Andrew Devine, who died 32 years after suffering severe and irreversible brain damage on the day, was the 97th victim. "[38], Outside the stadium, a bottleneck developed with more fans arriving than could be safely filtered through the turnstiles before 3:00pm. Just one person has been convicted for anything related to the Hillsborough disaster: Graham Mackrell, the then Sheffield Wednesday secretary, of a safety offence, for which he was fined. I had to scream at the police officer to allow us privacy . An FA spokesperson said: "We supported Aleksander Ceferin's re-election as president of Uefa based on his track record in the role over a number of years, which included dealing with the . [86] The Hillsborough Independent Panel considered the available evidence and stated that "the initial pathologist's opinion appeared definitive, but further authoritative opinions raised significant doubts about the accuracy of that initial opinion. [261] The Hillsborough Justice Campaign organised a less successful national boycott that had some impact on the paper's sales nationally. Labour MP Steve Rotheram, commented: "How insensitive does somebody have to be to write that load of drivel? [4] The disaster led to a number of safety improvements in the largest English football grounds, notably the elimination of fenced standing terraces in favour of all-seater stadiums in the top two tiers of English football. [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". [66][67], By the disaster's 10th anniversary in 1999, at least three people who survived were known to have taken their own lives. [54] The following Sunday, a link of football scarves spanning the 1 mile (1.6km) distance across Stanley Park from Goodison Park to Anfield was created, with the final scarf in position at 3:06pm. Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation, 'The patronising disposition of unaccountable power' report. I have never, since hearing the Taylor evidence unfold, offered any other interpretation in public or private. "[112] He later apologised for his remark, saying it was not intended to offend. The only one called was the Sheffield Wednesday club doctor. They just don't want their names in any more sleaze. 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. Ninety-four people, aged from 10 to 67 years old, died on the day, either at the stadium, in the ambulances, or shortly after arrival at hospital. Although the editor Boris Johnson did not write this piece,[293] journalist Simon Heffer said he had written the first draft of the article at Johnson's request. Margaret Aspinall, chairperson of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, asked for a face to face meeting with Hunt before deciding if she would[needs update] accept the apology. In October 1988 a probationary PC in Mole's F division, South Yorkshire was handcuffed, photographed, and stripped by fellow officers in a fake robbery, as a hazing prank. At a meeting in Liverpool with relatives of those involved in Hillsborough in October 1997, he flippantly remarked "Have you got a few of your people or are they like the Liverpool fans, turn up at the last minute? [146] Sir John Goldring was appointed as Assistant Coroner for South Yorkshire (East) and West Yorkshire (West) to conduct those inquests. [119] In April 2009, the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced she had requested secret files concerning the disaster be made public.[120]. Liverpool is a handsome city with a tribal sense of community. The turnstiles didn't seem to be letting people through very quickly, and the crowd was really building up. Four officers resigned and seven were disciplined over the incident. [266] Following the second inquest in 2016, The Sun's eighth and ninth pages carried images of the 96 victims and an editorial which apologised "unreservedly", saying "the police smeared [supporters] with a pack of lies which in 1989 the Sun and other media swallowed whole". Share page. Scrutiny of Evidence Relating to the Hillsborough Football Stadium Disaster (Command Paper); Home Office; Sports Stadia After Hillsborough: Seminar Papers; This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 21:14. They will have to answer 14 key questions about the disaster . Hillsborough: anatomy of a disaster Guardian The evidence built into a startling indictment of South Yorkshire police, their chain of command and conduct - a relentlessly detailed evisceration. His remarks led to Liverpool F.C. A seven-foot-high circular bronze memorial was unveiled in the Old Haymarket district of Liverpool in April 2013. [219] A candle was lit for each of the 96 victims. "[131], After publication, the Hillsborough Families Support Group called for new inquests for the victims. I published in good faith and I am sorry that it was so wrong". MacKenzie was suspended as a contributor to the newspaper. The event also raised cash for the Marina Dalglish Appeal which was contributed towards a radiotherapy centre at University Hospital in Aintree.[230][231]. [270] A press conference held by families of the victims also banned all Sun reporters from entering, with a sign on the door reading "NO ENTRY TO SUN JOURNALISTS". [77] Jon-Paul Gilhooley, aged 10, was the youngest person to die. Liverpool lodged a complaint before the match in 1989. Hillsborough hosted five FA Cup semi-finals in the 1980s. The inquests hearings started on Monday 31 March 2014 at Warrington. The right course of action is to withdraw this edition from salewhich we will be doing. Lord Justice Taylor, Final Report (Cm 962), Hillsborough: The Report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel, Liverpool Football Club Hillsborough Memorial. Mackrell pleaded not guilty to the charge against him. [57], UEFA President Jacques Georges caused controversy by describing the Liverpool supporters as "beasts",[58] wrongly suggesting that hooliganism was the cause of the disaster, which had occurred less than four years after the Heysel Stadium disaster. [133], Calls were made for the resignation of police officers involved in the cover-up, and for Sheffield Wednesday, the police and the Football Association to admit their blame. [96], Taylor concluded that in responding to the disaster there had been no fault on the part of the emergency services (St John Ambulance, South Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service and fire brigade). [180], The IPCC is[needs update] also investigating the actions of West Midlands Police, who in 1989 had been tasked with investigating South Yorkshire Police's conduct for both the original inquests and also the Taylor independent inquiry.