[4] Private prosecutions brought by the Hillsborough Families Support Group against Duckenfield and his deputy Bernard Murray failed in 2000. Two thousand traveling Liverpool away fans entered an already packed terrace via a . This included the Wolverhampton-based Express & Star, which reported that the match had been cancelled as a result of a "pitch invasion in which many fans were injured". [46]:149 Out of this number, two managed of their own accord to make their way onto the pitchwhile a third ambulance made its way onto the pitch at the direction of DCAO Hopkins, who felt its visibility might allay crowd concerns. [4] Following the Taylor Report, the Director of Public Prosecutions ruled there was no evidence to justify prosecution of any individuals or institutions. [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. Importantly, Stuart-Smith's report supported the coroner's assertion that evidence after 3:15pm was inadmissible as "that by 3:15pm the principal cause of death, that is, the crushing, was over. [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. [20], Risks associated with confining fans in pens were highlighted by the Committee of Inquiry into Crowd Safety at Sports Grounds (the Popplewell inquiry) after the Bradford City stadium fire in May 1985. FA Cup semi-final Liverpool v Nottingham Forest. In a post-match briefing to discuss the incident, Sheffield Wednesday chairman Bert McGee remarked: "Bollocksno one would have been killed". 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". [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. 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. 's The Den being the first new stadium to be built that fulfilled the recommendations. [46]:142 After the two minutes' silence, bells on civic buildings rang out throughout Merseyside. On 12 September 2012, it published its report and simultaneously launched a website containing 450,000 pages of material[116] collated from 85 organisations and individuals[117] over two years. . The anniversary was also marked by a minute's silence at the weekend's league games and FA Cup semi-finals. [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. "[38], Outside the stadium, a bottleneck developed with more fans arriving than could be safely filtered through the turnstiles before 3:00pm. [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?". In 1999, Anfield was packed with a crowd of around 10,000 people ten years after the disaster. [65] Despite having stronger ties to Liverpool F.C., Gerry and the Pacemakers' earlier hit "You'll Never Walk Alone" was not used because it had recently been re-recorded for the Bradford City stadium fire appeal. [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]. [191] The ruling also noted that the original statements had neither been destroyed, nor had they been ordered to be destroyed. Sheffield Wednesday's primary concern was to limit costs." The issue of congested access to the turnstiles remained unresolved, with over 24,000 fans entering through 23 turnstiles at Leppings. [29] Leeds were assigned the Leppings Lane end. The two teams involved in the Bradford City stadium fire, Bradford City and Lincoln City, met for the first time since the 1985 disaster in a game that raised 25,000 for the Hillsborough fund. [313] In another letter written to a Liverpool supporter, also written in 1996, Ingham remarked that people should "shut up about Hillsborough". In 2009, on the 20th anniversary of the disaster, Liverpool's request that their Champions League quarter-finals return leg, scheduled for 15 April, be played the day before was granted. An annual memorial ceremony is held at Anfield and at a church in Liverpool. [70] On 19 April, the death toll reached 95 when 14-year-old Lee Nicol died in hospital after being taken off life support. He dismissed the claim by senior police officers that they had no reason to anticipate problems, since congestion had occurred at both the 1987 and 1988 semi-finals. 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. [261] The Hillsborough Justice Campaign organised a less successful national boycott that had some impact on the paper's sales nationally. [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. 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. I think there will be a real boycott." MacKenzie was suspended as a contributor to the newspaper. Holes in the perimeter fencing were made by fans desperately attempting to rescue others. The editor at the time, Dominic Mohan, wrote: "We published an inaccurate and offensive story about the events at Hillsborough. Match commander Duckenfield decided to open a gate into the stadium to alleviate pressure at the turnstiles . Fans were still streaming into pens 3 and 4 from the rear entrance tunnel as the match began. Boycotts include both customers refusing to purchase it, and retailers refusing to stock it. It added:. 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 ceremony ended with 96 rings of church bells across the city and a rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone". How They Buried the Truth", "Bruce Grobbelaar: I heard the crowd at Hillsborough cry 'Please help us..', "Senior police officer did not step in, Hillsborough trial hears", "Key Hillsborough Evidence Backed By TV Footage", "Ambulanceman's Struggle to Live with Decisions Made on Pitch at Hillsborough", "Hillsborough: New Probe Backs Crucial Evidence", "Ambulances Got 'Stuck' As They Tried to Enter Hillsborough Stadium, Inquests Hear", "Police to face inquiry as questions go unanaswered", "Liverpool resists pressure to make decision on FA Cup", "Soccer rivals united in grief as church bells toll", "MPs urge Hurd to introduce safety gates into 'killer cages', "Feature: It's Up For Grabs Now The 20th Anniversary Of Anfield 1989", "A random sample of letters from public, schools and clubs reflecting the nature of donations to the disaster appeal fund", "College course developed with funds from the Hillsborough Disaster Appeal Fund goes from strength to strength", "The Official Charts Company Ferry Cross The Mersey by Gerry Marsden, Paul McCartney, Holly Johnson, The Christians and Stock Aitken Waterman Search", "Hillsborough: Brian Reade on the day that changed football forever", "Mum pays tribute to teenage Hillsborough victim Lee Nicol from Smollett Street Bootle", "James Milner's Hillsborough Liverpool Champions League", "A statement from the family of Andrew Devine", "Steven Brown, 25 Hillsborough 96 Hillsborough Remembered", "Peter Thompson, 30 Hillsborough 96 Hillsborough Remembered", "Steven Gerrard says death of his cousin at Hillsborough was biggest inspiration", "Hillsborough's '97th victim' remembered", "Hillsborough: how stories of disaster police were altered", "Timeline of a 27 year fight for the truth after the Hillsborough disaster", "Judgement of Divisional Court, 5 November 1993 application to quash the Inquest verdicts of six of the Hillsborough victims", "European court blow for mother of Hillsborough victim", "Two doctors who criticised Hillsborough ambulance response speak of "vindication" after inquests", "The two doctors who criticised the Hillsborough ambulance response", "Football: Long haul to implement Taylor Report", "The Architects Journal:Building Study (September 1993)", "The Stuart Smith Scrutiny Hillsborough Football Disaster", "Scrutiny of Evidence Relating to the Hillsborough Football Stadium Disaster", "Hillsborough inquiry by Blair government criticised", "Hillsborough Independent Panel: Disclosed Material and Report | Home page", "Organisations and people whose material has been reviewed", "Hillsborough panel set to publish report on 1989 disaster", "Who are the members of the Hillsborough Independent Panel? [147] On 6 April 2016, the nine jurors were sent out to consider their verdicts. [240], Initial media coveragespurred by what Phil Scraton calls in Hillsborough: The Truth "the Heysel factor" and "hooligan hysteria"began to shift the blame onto the behaviour of the Liverpool fans at the stadium, making it a public order issue. It is believed that an exit gate was opened to relieve crowds outside the turnstiles, which allowed over . donation was the amount the club would have received (as its share of the match income) had the semi-final gone ahead as planned. The findings concluded that 164 witness statements had been altered. [311][312], In 1996, Sir Bernard Ingham, former press secretary to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, caused controversy with his comments about the disaster. Another survivor had spent eight years in psychiatric care. This is an edited extract from 'The Hillsborough Disaster: In Their Own Words . In memory of 96 people, that have lost their lives.song: ''Denez Prigdent & Lisa Gerrard - Gortoz A Ran'' 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. [181][182], In April 2016, the Crown Prosecution Service announced that it would consider bringing charges against both individuals and corporate bodies once the criminal investigation by the Independent Police Complaints CommissionOperation Resolvehad been completed. Several memorials have been erected in memory of the victims of the Hillsborough disaster. [258][265] In 2012, under the headline "The Real Truth", The Sun made a front page apology, saying "we are profoundly sorry for false reports". [96] He said that "the Operational Order and police tactics on the day failed to provide for controlling a concentrated arrival of large numbers should that occur in a short period. The police became a convenient scapegoat, and the Sun newspaper a whipping-boy for daring, albeit in a tasteless fashion, to hint at the wider causes of the incident. [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. [298], On 28 June 2010, following England's departure from the 2010 FIFA World Cup competition in South Africa, the UK's Culture and Sport Secretary Jeremy Hunt praised the England fans for their behaviour during the competition, saying "I mean, not a single arrest for a football-related offence, and the terrible problems that we had in Heysel and Hillsborough in the 1980s seem now to be behind us." [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. 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. [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. [222][223] The Kop, Centenary and Main Stands were opened to the public before part of the Anfield Road End was opened to supporters. Williams was portrayed by Maxine Peake, whose performance was described in The Guardian as "almost unwatchably intense".[327]. 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. The T-shirt was red with white details like a Liverpool shirt, and had the number 96 on the back like a football shirt, with the text "Karma" and "What goes around comes back around", and a white rose, as associated with Yorkshire. It noted "The weight placed on alcohol in the face of objective evidence of a pattern of consumption modest for a leisure event was inappropriate. The IPCC announced on 12 October 2012 that it would investigate the failure of the police to declare a major incident, failure to close the tunnel to the stands which led to overcrowded pens despite evidence it had been closed in such circumstances in the past; changes made to the statements of police officers; actions which misled Parliament and the media; shortcomings of previous investigations; and the role played by Norman Bettison. The 350 passengers arrived at the ground at about 2:20pm. Nobody really had any comment on itthey just took one look and went away shaking their heads in wonder at the enormity of it. They will have to answer 14 key questions about the disaster . 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". "[272] Trevor Kavanagh, the political editor at the time of the Hillsborough disaster, said that he was "not sorry at all" about the reporting and supported his former boss Kelvin MacKenzie, stating that "we were clearly misled about the events and the authorities, including the police, actively concealed the truth". [278] Everton F.C. [193], It was announced in December 2017 that a police officer and a farrier would not be prosecuted over allegations that they fabricated a story about a police horse being burned with cigarettes at Hillsborough. The tragedy was largely attributed to mistakes made by the police. Hillsborough." [221], The event was remembered with a ceremony at Anfield attended by over 28,000 people. [46]:137,138 As this declaration was not immediately performed, confusion reigned over those attempting to administer aid on the pitch. [43], The crowd in the Leppings Lane Stand spilt onto the pitch, where the many injured and traumatised fans who had climbed to safety congregated. [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. [94] Further stating: "South Yorkshire Police were not prepared to concede they were in any respect at fault in what occurred. On 14 May, more than 20,000 people packed Anfield for a match held in memory of the victims. 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]. [174][175][176][177][178] On 16 October 2012, the Attorney General announced in Parliament he had applied to have the original inquests verdicts quashed, arguing it proceeded on a false basis and evidence now to hand required this exceptional step. After an initial rush, thousands of supporters entered the stadium "steadily at a fast walk". Former Chief Inspector Sir Norman Bettinson faced four counts of misconduct in public office. There were cases of alcoholism, drug abuse, and collapsed marriages involving people who had witnessed the events. [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 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. There is no basis for a renewed application to the Divisional Court or for the Attorney General to exercise his powers under the Coroners Act 1988. "[114] This was controversial as the subsequent response of the police and emergency services would not be scrutinised. Mackrell pleaded not guilty to the charge against him. This confusion migrated to the first responders waiting in ambulances at the CRP, a location which quickly deteriorated into an ambulance parking lot. [146] Sir John Goldring was appointed as Assistant Coroner for South Yorkshire (East) and West Yorkshire (West) to conduct those inquests. "[281], Professor Phil Scraton described Pearce's comments as amongst the "most bigoted and factually inaccurate" published in the wake of the disaster. [53] Standing on terraces and the use of perimeter fencing around the pitch, the use of CCTV, the timing of football matches and policing of sporting events were factors for a subsequent inquiry to consider. [284], The November 2002 edition of the men's lifestyle magazine FHM in Australia was swiftly withdrawn from sale soon after its publication, and a public apology made in the Australian and British editions, because it contained jokes mocking the disaster. [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". On Wednesday 19 April 1989, four days after the disaster, the second leg of the European Cup semi-final tie between A.C. Milan and Real Madrid was played. [35], Three chartered trains transported Liverpool supporters to Sheffield for a match in 1988, but only one such train ran in 1989. 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. An additional three victims came from Sheffield with two more living in counties adjacent to South Yorkshire. [63] Much of the money went to victims and relatives of those involved in the disaster and provided funds for a college course to improve the hospital phase of emergency care. During a 2011 debate in the House of Commons, the Labour MP for Liverpool Walton, Steve Rotheram, read out a list of the victims and, as a result, the names were recorded in the Hansard transcripts. The Taylor Report had a deep impact on safety standards for stadiums in the UK. The Liverpool manager, Rafael Bentez, set 96 balloons free. On 26July, the judge refused the prosecution's application for a retrial of Duckenfield. 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". In total, ninety-seven people died as a result of injuries incurred during the disaster. [162] Groome also claimed that match commander Duckenfield was a member of the "highly influential" Dole lodge in Sheffield (the same lodge as Brian Mole, his predecessor). [90], Ashton and Phillips were not the only doctors present at the disaster not to be called to give evidence to the Popper inquests. Lord Justice Taylor, Final Report (Cm 962), Hillsborough: The Report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel, Liverpool Football Club Hillsborough Memorial. [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. Garston and Halewood MP Maria Eagle called for the law to be changed to "prevent another catastrophic failure of justice".[204][205]. Ninety-six people died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster There were not enough turnstiles for fans entering the terraces on the day of the Hillsborough disaster, a stadium safety expert. The jury in the Hillsborough inquest were given a detailed questionnaire to answer about the April 1989 disaster. ", "Hillsborough: Freemason cops banned from working on criminal probe into cover-up", "Freemasons barred from investigation into alleged Hillsborough 'cover-up', "Hillsborough disaster: Why have freemasons been banned from the 1989 tragedy 'cover up' probe? Liverpool lodged a complaint before the match in 1989. This memorial is inscribed with the words: "Hillsborough Disaster we will remember them", and displays the names of the 96 victims who died. 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 panel concluded that "up to 41" of the 96 who had died up to that date, might have survived had the emergency services' reactions and co-ordination been better. [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. Bettison had been one of a number of police officers who were accused of manipulating evidence by the Hillsborough Independent Panel. "[255], In their history of The Sun, Peter Chippendale and Chris Horrie wrote:[256]. 'You'll never walk alone.'". [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. Is there, perhaps, a lesson there for the Hillsborough campaigners? It obviously wasn't a silly mistake; nor was it a simple oversight. [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.