Trust v Bland [1993] A.C. 789, a landmark House of Lords decision in English criminal law, that allowed the life-support machine of Tony Bland, a Hillsborough victim in a persistent vegetative state, to be switched off. Two thousand traveling Liverpool away fans entered an already packed terrace via a . [138] The Home Secretary called for investigations into law-breaking and promised resources to investigate individual or systematic issues. The Liverpool Echo condemned the apology as "cynical and shameless". No formal pleas were taken from the other four defendants. At approximately 3:04pm, a shot from Liverpool's Peter Beardsley hit the bar. As MacKenzie's layout was seen by more and more people, a collective shudder ran through the office (but) MacKenzie's dominance was so total there was nobody left in the organisation who could rein him in except Murdoch. On 26April 2016, after the inquest jury delivered a verdict affirming all the charges against the police, Crompton "unequivocally accepted" the verdicts, including unlawful killing, said that the police operation at the stadium on the day of the disaster had been "catastrophically wrong", and apologised unreservedly. April 15th 1989, Liverpool faced Nottingham Forest away in the semi-final of the FA cup, as kick-off approached a large crowd built up outside the Leppings Lane turnstiles. Two further gates (A and B) were subsequently opened to relieve pressure. Announcing the report to the House of Commons, Home Secretary Jack Straw backed Stuart-Smith's findings and said that "I do not believe that a further inquiry could or would uncover significant new evidence or provide any relief for the distress of those who have been bereaved. [131] MacKenzie said he should have written a headline that read "The Lies", although this apology was rejected by the Hillsborough Family Support Group and Liverpool fans, as it was seen to be "shifting the blame once again. [271], In February 2017, Liverpool F.C. [4], Police disciplinary charges were abandoned when Duckenfield retired on health grounds and, because Murray was unavailable, it was decided not to proceed with disciplinary charges against him. [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. "[131], After publication, the Hillsborough Families Support Group called for new inquests for the victims. A 20 minute video of the disaster in Windows Media Player format. [119] In April 2009, the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced she had requested secret files concerning the disaster be made public.[120]. [102] Further that: "The anxiety to protect the sanctity of the pitch has caused insufficient attention to be paid to the risk of a crush due to overcrowding". [154], Prime Minister David Cameron also responded to the April 2016 verdict by saying that it represented a "long overdue" but "landmark moment in the quest for justice", adding "All families and survivors now have official confirmation of what they always knew was the case, that the Liverpool fans were utterly blameless in the disaster that unfolded at Hillsborough. [1] This resulted in overcrowding of those pens and the crush. [146] Sir John Goldring was appointed as Assistant Coroner for South Yorkshire (East) and West Yorkshire (West) to conduct those inquests. Of those who died, 79 were aged under 30, 38 of whom were under 20, and all but three of the victims were aged under 50. By 2:45pm, 5,531 fans had passed through the turnstiles into the terrace. How the Hillsborough disaster unfolded - BBC News [290], The Spectator was criticised for an editorial which appeared in the magazine on 16 October 2004 following the death of British hostage Kenneth John "Ken" Bigley in Iraq, in which it was claimed that the response to Bigley's killing was fuelled by the fact he was from Liverpool, and went on to criticise the "drunken" fans at Hillsborough and call on them to accept responsibility for their "role" in the disaster:[292]. A combination of economic misfortuneits docks were, fundamentally, on the wrong side of England when Britain entered what is now the European Unionand an excessive predilection for welfarism have created a peculiar, and deeply unattractive, psyche among many Liverpudlians. Hillsborough inquests: Sarah Hicks 'tried in vain' to save sister Taylor Report - Wikipedia [257] In 1993, he told a House of Commons committee, "I regret Hillsborough. On 26July, the judge refused the prosecution's application for a retrial of Duckenfield. Hillsborough inquest: The 14 key questions the jury must answer Hillsborough first aired in the US on 15April 2014, the 25th anniversary of the disaster. In the following days and weeks, South Yorkshire Police (SYP) fed the press false stories suggesting that football hooliganism and drunkenness by Liverpool supporters had caused the disaster. The only people that weren't against us was our own city. Well, if you look at the Liverpool end, to the right of the goal, there's hardly anybody on those stepsthat's it. We had the media against us, as well as the establishment. Bibliography of over 150 books, journal articles, TV programmes and websites relating to the Disaster and its aftermath produced by Sheffield City Council's Archives Service. It said criticism of Rooney was wrong and co-ordinated by the Liverpool Echo and Liverpool Post. [301] Leeds United chairman Ken Bates endorsed this call in the club programme and stated, "Leeds have suffered at times with reference to Galatasaray; some of our so-called fans have also been guilty as well, particularly in relation to Munich." [323][324], As the documentary included previously unreleased security camera footage from the stadium on the day of the disaster, it could not be shown in the UK upon initial release due to the 2012 High Court inquest still being in progress. [108] In England and Wales all-seating is a requirement of the Premier League[109] and of the Football League for clubs who have been present in the Championship for more than three seasons. In the email, which came to light as the result of a Freedom of Information request, Crompton had said that the families' "version of certain events has become 'the truth' even though it isn't". Representation Construction: The Hillsborough Disaster [26] Serious overcrowding was observed at the 1987 quarter-final between Sheffield Wednesday and Coventry City[28] and again during the semi-final between Coventry City and Leeds United at Hillsborough. At least 96 current and former Liverpool footballers are being[needs update] lined up to raise 96,000 by auctioning a limited edition (of 96) signed photographs. The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Interim Report - Wikisource This memorial is inscribed with the words: "Hillsborough Disaster we will remember them", and displays the names of the 96 victims who died. [97] The failure by the police to give the order to direct fans to empty areas of the stadium, was described by Taylor as "a blunder of the first magnitude". Nobody really had any comment on itthey just took one look and went away shaking their heads in wonder at the enormity of it. The Football Spectators Act does not cover Scotland, but the Scottish Premier League chose to make all-seater stadiums a requirement of league membership. The transfer was to be done with immediate effect on 27 March 1989. [16], At the time of the disaster most English football stadiums had high steel fencing between the spectators and the playing field in response to pitch invasions. Lord Justice Taylor, Interim Report (Cm 765), The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster, 15 April 1989: Inquiry by the Rt. Dean Davis and David Walters, South African Liverpool supporters, were responsible for the service and the bench was commissioned by Guy Prowse in 2008. At the rescheduled fixture, Arsenal players brought flowers onto the pitch and presented them to the Liverpool fans around the stadium before the game commenced. In 1997 Lord Justice Stuart-Smith concluded that there was no justification for a new inquiry. His actions were disowned by Chelsea Football Club and he no longer works as a broadcaster. [4][8] Reporting in 2012, it confirmed Taylor's 1990 criticisms and revealed details about the extent of police efforts to shift blame onto fans, the role of other emergency services and the error of the first coroner's inquests. The memorial service, led by the Bishop of Liverpool began at 14:45 BST and a two-minute silence (observed across Liverpool and in Sheffield and Nottingham, including public transport coming to a stand-still)[224][225] was held at the time of the disaster twenty years earlier, 15:06 BST. There are soapy politicians to make a pet of Liverpool, and Liverpool itself is always standing by to make a pet of itself. Hillsborough disaster | Details, Deaths, 1989, Facts, & Aftermath 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. [91], After the disaster, Lord Justice Taylor was appointed to conduct an inquiry into the events. On 12 September 2012, the Hillsborough Independent Panel concluded that no Liverpool fans were responsible in any way for the disaster,[122] and that its main cause was a "lack of police control". The record was produced by Stock Aitken Waterman and featured Liverpool musicians Paul McCartney, Gerry Marsden (of the Pacemakers), Holly Johnson, and The Christians. Hillsborough: what has happened in 30 years since disaster | The Week UK [183], Commissioned by the Home Secretary Theresa May, a report was published on 1 November 2017 by the Right Reverend James Jones titled The patronising disposition of unaccountable power: A report to ensure that the pain and suffering of the Hillsborough families is not repeated. The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. The turnstiles didn't seem to be letting people through very quickly, and the crowd was really building up. The only one called was the Sheffield Wednesday club doctor. With 96 deaths and 766 injuries, it remains the worst such case in British sporting history.. It was held that claimants who watched the disaster on television/listened on radio were not 'proximal' and their claims were rejected. Many uninjured fans assisted the injured; several attempted CPR and others tore down advertising hoardings to use as stretchers. [53] The Liverpool F.C. The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, at the time of the report, 95 Liverpool F.C. They organised a sensible compensation scheme and moved on. [43] Chief Superintendent John Nesbit of South Yorkshire Police later briefed Michael Shersby MP that leaving the rescue to the fans was a deliberate strategy, and is quoted as saying "We let the fans help so that they would not take out their frustration on the police" at a Police Federation conference. [159], Kelvin MacKenzie, who wrote the now-infamous "The Truth" front page for the Sun, said that although he was "duped" into publishing his story, that his "heart goes out" to the families of those affected, saying that "It's quite clear today the fans had nothing to do with it". [222][223] The Kop, Centenary and Main Stands were opened to the public before part of the Anfield Road End was opened to supporters. As the prime minister has made clear, these allegations were wholly untrue and were part of a concerted plot by police officers to discredit the supporters thereby shifting the blame for the tragedy from themselves. 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 . They were asked 14 questions in relation to the disaster which killed 96 Liverpool . This Harrowing report, describes how a beautiful spring day turned into a day of tragedy and disaster. [85], In February 2000, a private prosecution was brought against Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield and another officer, Bernard Murray. It was a 'classic smear'. [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. Families believed that Popper was 'too close' to the police. Everything was against us. [245], Many of the more serious allegationssuch as stealing from the dead and assault of police officers and rescue workersappeared on 18 April,[241] although several evening newspapers published on 15 April 1989 also gave inaccurate reporting of the disaster, as these newspapers went to press before the full extent or circumstances of the disaster had been confirmed or even reported. [238][239], In December 2021, Liverpool City Council nominated Andrew Devine posthumously for the freedom of the city of Liverpool, a tribute given to the original 96 victims in 2016. The error staring them in the face was too glaring. [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. and 25,000 each from the cities of Liverpool, Sheffield, and Nottingham. South Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service, Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police, White v Chief Constable of the South Yorkshire Police, Champions League quarter-finals return leg, Coverage of the Hillsborough disaster by The Sun, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, List of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland by death toll, "Five Hillsborough myths dispelled by inquests jury", "1989: Football fans crushed at Hillsborough", "Liverpool fan's death ruled as 97th of Hillsborough disaster", "Hillsborough Disaster: From tragedy to truth", "The legacy of Hillsborough how football has changed", "Out of the ashes of Hillsborough, modern football was born", "High court quashes Hillsborough inquest verdicts", "Not 'justice' but full truth may finally be possible for Hillsborough victims", "Hillsborough papers: Cameron apology over 'double injustice', "Hillsborough disaster: David Cameron apologises for 'double injustice', "Hillsborough inquests jury rules 96 victims were unlawfully killed", "South Yorkshire police chief suspended after Hillsborough verdict", "The great betrayal: how the Hillsborough families were failed by the justice system", "Five Hillsborough Myths Dispelled by Inquests Jury", "Before Hillsborough fans were seen as terrace fodder. [299], Fans of rival clubs[300] have been known to chant about the Hillsborough disaster at football matches, in order to upset Liverpool fans. On Question Time the next year, MacKenzie publicly repeated the claims he said at the dinner; he said that he believed some of the material they published in The Sun but was not sure about all of it. Hon. [261][262] The Financial Times reported in 2019 that Merseyside sales were estimated to drop from 55,000 per day to 12,000 per day, an 80% decrease. [52], Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Home Secretary Douglas Hurd visited Hillsborough the day after the disaster and met survivors. Another survivor had spent eight years in psychiatric care. 's The Den being the first new stadium to be built that fulfilled the recommendations. The Leppings Lane end of the ground did not hold a valid safety certificate at the time of the disaster; it had not been updated since 1979. Today I offer my profuse apologies to the people of Liverpool for that headline. 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. [26] This 1981 change and other later changes to the stadium invalidated the stadium's safety certificate. The report said "When spectators first appeared on the track, the immediate assumption in the control room was that a pitch invasion was threatened. South Yorkshire Police had performed blood alcohol tests on the victims, some of them children, and ran computer checks on the national police database in an attempt to "impugn their reputation". [41], When the gates were opened, thousands of fans entered a narrow tunnel leading from the rear of the terrace into two overcrowded central pens (pens 3 and 4), creating pressure at the front. Hillsborough inquests jury rules 96 victims were unlawfully killed Look down there. [88] The views of both were dismissed by the Taylor report. [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". The police were worried about fatal crushing. The Hillsborough memorial at Anfield (featuring the names of the 96 who lost their lives, and an eternal flame) was located next to the Shankly Gates before it was moved to the front of the redeveloped main stand in 2016. [115] Falconer added: "It made the families in the Hillsborough disaster feel after one establishment cover-up, here was another. They always believed in us. Team captain Steven Gerrard and vice-captain Jamie Carragher handed the freedom of the city to the families of all the victims. "Munich" is a reference to the deaths of eight Manchester United players in the Munich air disaster of 1958. Stephen Whittle is considered by some to be another victim of Hillsborough, as due to work commitments, he had sold his ticket to a friend (whom he and his family chose not to identify), who then died in the disaster; the resulting feeling of survivor guilt is believed to be the main reason he took his own life in February 2011.[79]. [241] As well as The Sun's 19 April 1989 "The Truth" article (see below) other newspapers published similar allegations; the Daily Star headline on the same day reported "Dead fans robbed by drunk thugs"; the Daily Mail accused the Liverpool fans of being "drunk and violent and their actions were vile", and The Daily Express ran a story alleging that "Police saw 'sick spectacle of pilfering from the dying'." [155], Echoing his 2012 expression of regret[158] former Home Secretary Jack Straw apologised to the families for the failures of his 1997 review of the disaster. issued a ban on The Sun journalists from entering their grounds in response to the coverage of Hillsborough by the newspaper. The request to delay the start of the match by 20 minutes was declined. Let's be honest about thispeople were against us. [112] The terms of reference of his inquiry were limited to "new evidence", that is "evidence which was not available or was not presented to the previous inquiries, courts or authorities. [46]:142 I published in good faith and I am sorry that it was so wrong". [156][157] Liberal Democrat MP John Pugh called for David Cameron to make a formal apology in the House of Commons to the families of those killed at Hillsborough and to the city of Liverpool as a whole. [232] Supporters of Everton, Liverpool's traditional local rivals, were affected, many of them having lost friends and family.