This confusion migrated to the first responders waiting in ambulances at the CRP, a location which quickly deteriorated into an ambulance parking lot. 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. Two British stage plays also dealt with the disaster with different view points: On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. The cast included Christopher Eccleston, Annabelle Apsion, Ricky Tomlinson and Mark Womack. Speaking after the disaster, Kelly backed all-seater stadiums, saying "We must move fans away from the ritual of standing on terraces". Although there was enough evidence to charge the farrier with perverting the course of justice, it was felt not to be in the public interest to charge him. I do not consider that there is any material which should be put before the Director of Public Prosecutions or the Police Complaints Authority which might cause them to reconsider the decisions they have already taken. Duckenfield took medical retirement on a full police pension. The programme was repeated on 1May 2016, at the end of the week in which the Hillsborough inquest ruled that the 96 Liverpool football fans died unlawfully. They did not seek endless further inquiries. Labour MP Steve Rotheram, commented: "How insensitive does somebody have to be to write that load of drivel? 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. [52] In the following days more than 200,000 people visited the "shrine" inside the stadium. People presenting tickets at the wrong turnstiles and those who had been refused entry could not leave because of the crowd behind them and remained as an obstruction. I too was totally misled. The Taylor Report had a deep impact on safety standards for stadiums in the UK. A Liverpool fan who suffered life-changing injuries in the Hillsborough disaster has died. . It was brought by police officers on duty against the chief constable who was said to have been vicariously liable for the disaster. "[131], After publication, the Hillsborough Families Support Group called for new inquests for the victims. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. THE HILLSBOROUGH STADIUM DISASTER 15 APRIL 1989 INQUIRY BY THE RT HON LORD JUSTICE TAYLOR INTERIM REPORT Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for the Home Department by Command of Her Majesty August 1989 LONDON HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE CONTENTS This work is licensed under the United Kingdom Open Government Licence v1.0 . On the day of the match, radio and television broadcasters advised fans without tickets not to attend. Liverpool lodged a complaint before the match in 1989. Hillsborough remains the worst disaster in British sporting history On a sunny spring afternoon in 1989, a crush developed at the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield resulting in the deaths of. The only people that weren't against us was our own city. Nobody really had any comment on itthey just took one look and went away shaking their heads in wonder at the enormity of it. An annual memorial ceremony is held at Anfield and at a church in Liverpool. The city of Liverpool will today remember the 96 football fans who died at Hillsborough stadium, 30 years to the day since the disaster. [4] Prosecutor Alun Jones told the court that Duckenfield gave the order to open the gates so that hundreds of fans could be herded onto the already crowded terraces at the stadium. It's fine to apologise afterwards. During the episode car mechanic Minty said: "Five years out of Europe because of Heysel, because they penned you lot in to stop you fighting on the pitch and then what did we end up with? From 2007, an annual Hillsborough Memorial service was held at Spion Kop, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. 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. Up to 10,000 Liverpool supporters have tickets to the standing terraces on their side of the pitch.. This left planning for the semi-final match to Duckenfield, who had never commanded a sell-out football match before, and who had "very little, if any" training or personal experience in how to do so. Sadly I must report that for the most part the quality of their evidence was in inverse proportion to their rank". 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. Hillsborough first aired in the US on 15April 2014, the 25th anniversary of the disaster. [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. Copy link. 14 in the UK charts.[229]. [132] They also called for prosecutions for unlawful killing, corporate manslaughter and perversion of the course of justice in respect of the actions of the police both in causing the disaster and covering up their actions; and in respect of Sheffield Wednesday FC, Sheffield Council and the Football Association for their various responsibilities for providing, certifying and selecting the stadium for the fatal event. "[87], Popper had excluded the witness evidence of two qualified Merseyside doctors (Drs Ashton and Phillips) who had been inside the stadium on the day and who had been critical of the chaotic emergency response. [294] Johnson apologised at the time of the article, travelling to Liverpool to do so,[295] and again following the publication of the report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel in 2012; Johnson's apology was rejected by Margaret Aspinall, chairperson of the Hillsborough Families Support Group, whose son James, 18, died in the disaster:[296]. After the last verdict was read out, I decided to jot down a few thoughts. 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. As the Panel explained in their report:[46]:146. [309][310] Despite this he was replaced as presenter of Fox Football Fone-in. [232] Supporters of Everton, Liverpool's traditional local rivals, were affected, many of them having lost friends and family. [326], Anne is a four-part docudrama about Anne Williams' campaign to reveal the truth about her son's death, which aired on ITV in January 2022. [219] A candle was lit for each of the 96 victims. [246] These media reports and others were examined during the 2012 Hillsborough Independent Panel report. The panel was chaired by James Jones, the Bishop of Liverpool. Consequently, a course of public justice could not have been perverted. Club Secretary Graham Mackrell faced a charge of breaching the Safety at Sports Ground Act 1975. In total, ninety-seven people died as a result of injuries incurred during the disaster. [9][10][11] The panel's report resulted in the previous findings of accidental death being quashed, and the creation of new coroner's inquests. Merseyside Police Authority confirmed that Bettison would receive an 83,000 pension, unless convicted of a criminal offence. Meanwhile, on the pitch, police, stewards and members of the St John Ambulance service were overwhelmed. Trevor Hicks, whose two daughters had been killed, described the verdicts as 'lawful' but 'immoral'.[83]. Deborah Glass, deputy chair of the IPCC said, "We know the people who have contacted us are the tip of the iceberg." 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. [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. fans had died (a 96th fan died in 1993, and 97th in 2021).An interim report was published in August 1989 . [198] On 3April, the jury returned with a guilty verdict against Mackrell on a health and safety charge but was unable to reach a verdict on Duckenfield. [299], Fans of rival clubs[300] have been known to chant about the Hillsborough disaster at football matches, in order to upset Liverpool fans. ", "Original 'copy' of Hillsborough story filed by White's news agency", "Hillsborough Inquests: 'Regrets' over pickpocketing claims", "Hillsborough: 20 years on, Liverpool has still not forgiven the newspaper it calls 'The Scum', "Hillsborough report: Prime Minister David Cameron's statement in full", "How the Sun's 'truth' about Hillsborough unravelled", "Hillsborough: telling the truth about the scum", "MacKenzie speaks out on Hillsborough comments", "Hillsborough: Former Sun editor apologises to Liverpool", "Liverpool Vs The Sun: How the City Rid Itself of the UK's Biggest Paper", "Liverpool's 23-year boycott of The Sun newspaper", "Sun boycott reduced Euroscepticism on Merseyside, study shows", "Hillsborough: The Sun 'profoundly sorry' over false fan conduct reports", "Newspaper review: Hillsborough 'justice' hailed, but not on Sun's front page", "News International chairman James Murdoch apologises to Liverpool over Sun's coverage of Hillsborough tragedy", "Hillsborough files: Reaction to release of government papers", "Hillsborough: Kelvin MacKenzie offers 'profuse apologies to the people of Liverpool', "Not Even The Sun Could Have Expected This Level of Anger After Hillsborough Inquest", "The Sun Relegates Hillsborough To Page 8, Outrage Ensues", "Sun and Times front pages criticised for ignoring Hillsborough verdict", "S*n and Times slammed for ignoring Hillsborough on front pages", "Hillsborough: Times admits front page 'mistake', "The Hillsborough Verdict Shows People Still Haven't Forgiven The Sun Even After 27 Years", "The S*n hides behind wall of silence after landmark Hillsborough verdicts", "Liverpool FC ban for Sun journalists over Hillsborough", "Everton join Liverpool in banning Sun journalists over coverage", "Hillsborough Inquiry: Press Release No. 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. 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. Hon. "[38], Outside the stadium, a bottleneck developed with more fans arriving than could be safely filtered through the turnstiles before 3:00pm. There are soapy politicians to make a pet of Liverpool, and Liverpool itself is always standing by to make a pet of itself. [284][286] Gary Lineker described the incident as "disgusting as it is unsurprising",[287] and David Walsh, chief sports writer at the Sunday Times, said it was a "shocking misjudgment" to not include this story on the front page. Wright said: "The request has been submitted by a firm of solicitors in Liverpool acting on behalf of a number of individuals affected by the event. 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. It added:. The Gymnasium", "Hillsborough Drama Shown Again on ITV Tonight at 10:20pm", "ESPN's Hillsborough documentary can't be aired in the United Kingdom thanks to British laws", "Anne review Maxine Peake exudes raw horror in extraordinary Hillsborough drama", "The investigation of the Hillsborough Disaster by the Health and Safety Executive", The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster, 15 April 1989: Inquiry by the Rt. This was unlikely at the beginning of a match. [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?". [89] Phillips stated that the exclusion of their evidence was a 'serious error of judgement' by Popper. Nottingham Forest supporters were allocated the South Stands and Spion Kop[a] on the east end, with a combined capacity of 29,800, reached by 60 turnstiles spaced along two sides of the ground. The disaster has been acknowledged on 15April every year by the community in Liverpool and football in general. [103], Regarding the decision to allocate Liverpool spectators to the West and North Ends, Taylor stated "I do not consider choice of ends was causative of the disaster. 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". [201][202], On 26 May 2021, Denton, Foster and Metcalfe were all found not guilty of perverting the course of justice by altering 68 police officers' statements, when Mr Justice William Davis found that they had no case to answer. . The reason given was that the public inquiry in 1990, to which the altered statements were submitted, was not a statutory inquiry, and therefore not a Court of Law. [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 disaster was a fatal human crush at the match held at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield. [58], At the 1989 FA Cup Final between Liverpool and local rivals Everton, held just five weeks after the Hillsborough disaster, the players from both participating teams wore black armbands as a gesture of respect to the victims. For some time, problems at the front of the Liverpool central goal pens went largely unnoticed except by those inside them and a few police at that end of the pitch. They organised a sensible compensation scheme and moved on. "[114] This was controversial as the subsequent response of the police and emergency services would not be scrutinised. Published. Lord Justice Taylor, Final Report (Cm 962), Hillsborough: The Report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel, Liverpool Football Club Hillsborough Memorial. Gerrard has said the disaster inspired him to lead the team he supported as a boy and become a top professional football player. A police officer ordinarily made a visual assessment before guiding fans to other pens. [24][25] The incident nonetheless prompted Sheffield Wednesday to alter the layout at the Leppings Lane end, dividing the terrace into three separate pens to restrict sideways movement. [107] Chester City F.C. "[304], In 2013, a formal complaint was made against David Crompton, South Yorkshire's chief constable, over internal emails relating to the Hillsborough disaster. [118], In the years after the disaster, the Hillsborough Family Support Group had campaigned for the release of all relevant documents into the public domain. The Football Spectators Act does not cover Scotland, but the Scottish Premier League chose to make all-seater stadiums a requirement of league membership. [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. [195], At a trial preparation hearing at Preston Crown Court on 10September 2018, Duckenfield pleaded not guilty to all 95 charges against him. [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. Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester United players showed respect by wearing black armbands during their Champions League quarter-final matches on 14 and 15 April 2009. The ceremony was held on the Spion Kop Battlefield which gave its name to the Kop Stand at Anfield. Former Chief Superintendent Duckenfield, in charge of the match, faced 95 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence. 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. Hundreds of people were pressed against one another and the fencing by the weight of the crowd behind them. "[255], In their history of The Sun, Peter Chippendale and Chris Horrie wrote:[256]. With the imminent release of police documents relating to events on 15 April 1989, the Hillsborough Family Support Group launched Project 96, a fundraising initiative on 1 August 2009. 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. No formal pleas were taken from the other four defendants. trying to usher myself and my husband out . About sharing . Is there, perhaps, a lesson there for the Hillsborough campaigners? [39] The police at first attempted to stop fans from spilling out of the pens, some believing this to be a pitch invasion. 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. [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. [203], In response to the acquittals, Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg called the lack of accountability over Hillsborough "the greatest scandal of British policing of our lifetimes". [311][312], In 1996, Sir Bernard Ingham, former press secretary to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, caused controversy with his comments about the disaster. Shortly before kick-off, in an attempt to ease overcrowding outside the entrance turnstiles, the police match commander, David Duckenfield, ordered exit gate C to be opened, leading to an influx of supporters entering the pens. Human crush during the 1989 FA Cup semi-final. (Everyone in the office) seemed paralysed"looking like rabbits in the headlights"as one hack described them. In response, Trevor Hicks, chairman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, rejected MacKenzie's apology as "too little, too late", calling him "lowlife, clever lowlife, but lowlife". [146] Sir John Goldring was appointed as Assistant Coroner for South Yorkshire (East) and West Yorkshire (West) to conduct those inquests. Hooliganism had affected the sport for some years and was particularly virulent in England. [39] Those still trapped in the pens were packed so tightly that many victims died of compressive asphyxia while standing. The film was aired for the first time in 1996, and has been shown four times since then: in 1998, in 2009, in September 2012 (shortly after the release of the findings of the Hillsborough Independent Panel), and again on 1May 2016 on ITV. Supporters laid down flowers and blue and white scarves to show respect for the dead and unity with fellow Merseysiders. Jones stated that minutes after the disaster, Duckenfield "deceitfully and dishonestly" told senior FA officials that the supporters had forced the gate open. When he presented his report in February 1998, he concluded that there was insufficient evidence for a new inquiry into the disaster. [1] This resulted in overcrowding of those pens and the crush. [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. [226] The ceremony was attended by survivors of the disaster, families of victims and the Liverpool team, with goalkeeper Pepe Reina leading the team and management staff onto the pitch. [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". The first reading was read by Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar. It made recommendations on the safety of crowds penned within fences,[21] including that "all exit gates should be manned at all times and capable of being opened immediately from the inside by anyone in an emergency".[22]. A former South Yorkshire police inspector who was on duty at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough when 96 people were crushed to death has said he believed before the match that the. [145] Maria Eagle confirmed her understanding that WMP actions in this respect would be the subject of IPCC scrutiny. I bent down to kiss and talk to [my son] and as we stood up there was a policeman who came from behind me . [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. It was April 26, 2016. Let's be honest about thispeople were against us. [T]here was no effective leadership either from control or on the pitch to harness and organise rescue efforts. 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? 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. In December 2009, Home Secretary Alan Johnson said the Hillsborough Independent Panel's remit would be to oversee "full public disclosure of relevant government and local information within the limited constraints set out in the disclosure protocol" and "consult with the Hillsborough families to ensure that the views of those most affected by the disaster are taken into account". [43] Football players from both teams were ushered to their respective dressing rooms, and told that there would be a 30-minute postponement. It was also reported that the jury would be directed to find Mackrell not guilty on the charge of contravening the stadium's safety certificate due to a lack of evidence. [32] Although Mole could have been assigned the semi-final match's planning despite his transfer, that was not done. A provisional trial date was set for 14January 2019,[196] on which date the trial started at Preston Crown Court before Mr Justice Openshaw. I was not sorry then and I'm not sorry now". An apology appeared on page 10, reiterating previous statements that the 1989 headline had been an error of judgement. . The clock at the Kop End stood still at 3:06pm, the time that the referee had blown his whistle in 1989 and a minute's silence was held, the start signalled by match referee from that day, Ray Lewis. Chief Superintendent Mole himself was to be transferred to the Barnsley division for "career development reasons". Today I offer my profuse apologies to the people of Liverpool for that headline. The Taylor Inquiry sat for a total of 31 days (between 15May and 29June 1989)[92] and published two reports: an interim report (1August 1989) which laid out the events of the day and immediate conclusions; and a final report (19January 1990) which outlined general recommendations on football ground safety. The police were worried about fatal crushing. 's Deva Stadium was the first English football stadium to fulfil the safety recommendations of the Taylor Report, with Millwall F.C. They see themselves whenever possible as victims, and resent their victim status; yet at the same time they wallow in it. 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]. [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.
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