Hillsborough disaster inquest jury find police responsible for ‘unlawful killings’ of 96 Liverpool fans in 1989
THE families of 96 Liverpool fans who died in the Hillsborough disaster are celebrating after an inquest ruled the police were responsible for their deaths.
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AFTER 27 years of deceit, denials and outright lies, the families of the 96 Liverpool fans who died in the Hillsborough disaster are celebrating as an inquest rules the police were responsible for the unlawful killings of their loved ones that day.
At the end of the longest jury case in British legal history, a six woman and three man jury concluded police and the ambulance services “caused or contributed” to the loss of lives by error or omission in the stadium.
The jury agreed with 14 points put to them and concluded the tragedy on April 15, 1989 when thousands of fans were crushed at Sheffield was caused by errors by police including opening exit gates on a side lane into the stadium allowing 2000 more fans to flood in, further crushing the already packed central pens.
They were asked to rule on 14 questions to which they declared “yes” including: “Was there any error or omission in police planning or preparation which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation that developed on the day of the match?”
The verdict attracted spontaneous outpouring of emotions with relatives cheering, clapping and shouting “alleluia”.
Others slumped in their seats and openly cried while one quipped “14-nil”.
Outside court people wearing Liverpool scarves sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.
The central question they had been waiting an affirmative for had been to declare fans had been “unlawfully killed” and were not to blame for the disaster.
It took just 17 minutes to end 27 years of heartache and the inquest that began on March 31, 2014 in a specially built courtroom in Warrington in northwest London, about 100km away from the stadium site.
The verdict is now likely to see police officers, notably commanders including the already disgraced David Duckenfield who was found to have “caused or contributed to the crush on the terrace, as did those senior officers in the police control box when the order was given to open the exit gates at Leppings Lane”.
The former top cop was reportedly on holidays in Portugal yesterday when the verdicts were read out but the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed it was looking at manslaughter through gross negligence.
He was in charge on the day and it was he who blamed the fans for two decades but stunned all including his own lawyers when he took to the inquest stand and admitted for the first time he had made mistakes including failing to have the gates to the central pens and tunnel closed.
There are two inquiries, both to be concluded this year, with one looking at crimes and the other official misconduct.
On April 15, 1989, 96 fans died and 730 more injured during an FA Cup semi final game between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest when a crush outside the stadium in Sheffield prompted police to order gates to be opened, thereby causing the deadly crush inside the ground.
In 1991 an inquest ruled accidental deaths but this was quashed after a two-year probe in 2012 ruled the disaster was covered up by a blatant campaign by police and ambulance authorities in South Yorkshire including blaming unruly Liverpool fans.
Last Wednesday the jury indicated that unanimous decisions had been reached on every question apart from question six — unlawful killing — to which the court ruled it would accept a majority verdict which they had already reached 7-2.
Barry Devonside, who lost his only son Christopher, 18, in the disaster said he had “dreamt” of the moment.
“Today we gained the confidence from the jury that what we’ve tried to do for 27 years is to bring justice for those who never went home,” he said of the greatest peacetime tragedy in British history.
“I never thought in my wildest dreams that we would get this.
Tracey Church, who lost her brother Gary in the disaster, was overcome.
“It’s surreal. (I feel) emotional, shaken, happy, sad — all mixed emotions,” she said.
Leading campaigner Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died in the disaster, said she was immensely grateful to the people of Liverpool for backing the fight for justice.
“Let’s be honest about this — people were against us, we had the media against us, as well as the establishment,” she said.
“Everything was against us. The only people that weren’t against us was our own city. That’s why I am so grateful to my city and so proud of my city. They always believed in us.”
South Yorkshire Police Chief Constable David Crompton said his force “unequivocally” accepted the verdict of unlawful killing and the wider findings reached by the jury and admitted his force had got it wrong.
“As I have said before, I want to apologise unreservedly to the families and all those affected.”
The youngest of the 96 killed that day was Jon-Paul Gilhooley, the ten-year-old cousin of future England and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard.
The cost of the inquest and related inquiries had so far cost AU$220 million (116 million pounds) but continues to rise.
Coroner Sir John Goldring said at the conclusion of proceedings: “I know on occasion how agonisingly difficult it must have been sitting there listening to the evidence. I know on occasion you have not agreed with my decisions.
“You could not have done more by your loved ones. You have done your duty by them.”
Relatives then broke into a round of applause.
Originally published as Hillsborough disaster inquest jury find police responsible for ‘unlawful killings’ of 96 Liverpool fans in 1989
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