With 96 deaths and 766 injuries, it remains the worst such case in British sporting history.. He faced no charge in respect of the death of Tony Bland, who died four years after the disaster. It affirmed the position of the courts once again towards claims of psychiatric injuries of secondary victims. 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". Rather than establishing crowd safety as their top priority, the clubs, local authorities and police viewed their roles and responsibilities through the 'lens of hooliganism'. I have considered the circumstances in which alterations were made to some of the self-written statements of South Yorkshire Police officers, but I do not consider that there is any occasion for any further investigation. The Football Spectators Act does not cover Scotland, but the Scottish Premier League chose to make all-seater stadiums a requirement of league membership. 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. 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. Andrew Devine, 55, died on Tuesday, his family said in a statement released by Liverpool FC. [170] In early October, Bettison announced his retirement, becoming the first senior figure to step down since publication of the panel's report.[171][172][173]. donation was the amount the club would have received (as its share of the match income) had the semi-final gone ahead as planned. After the two minutes' silence, bells on civic buildings rang out throughout Merseyside. 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 police were worried about fatal crushing. Other members were:[121]. After the crush in 1981, Hillsborough was not chosen to host an FA Cup semi-final for six years until 1987. [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. [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. After the last verdict was read out, I decided to jot down a few thoughts. Possibly connected to the excitement, a surge in pen 3 caused one of its metal crush barriers to give way. The entrance had a limited number of turnstiles, of which just seven . As the Panel explained in their report:[46]:146. 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. . [191], On 9 August 2017, all except Duckenfield appeared at Warrington Magistrates Court. The only one called was the Sheffield Wednesday club doctor. 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. [313] In another letter written to a Liverpool supporter, also written in 1996, Ingham remarked that people should "shut up about Hillsborough". [94], Lord Taylor concluded that the behaviour of Liverpool fans, including accusations of drunkenness, were secondary factors, and said that most fans were: "not drunk, nor even the worse for drink". It added:. From 2007, an annual Hillsborough Memorial service was held at Spion Kop, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Their claims were dismissed and the Alcock decision was upheld. [200] On 28November 2019, Duckenfield was found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter. [140][141][142] Bettison denied the claim, and other allegations about his conduct, saying:[143]. [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. [37], The report dismissed the theory, put forward by South Yorkshire Police, that fans attempting to gain entry without tickets or with forged tickets were contributing factors. His cousin, Steven Gerrard, then aged 8, went on to become Liverpool F.C. 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. [272] On the night of the verdict coverage, more than 124,000 tweets used the term The Sun. Chief Superintendent Mole himself was to be transferred to the Barnsley division for "career development reasons". [85], In February 2000, a private prosecution was brought against Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield and another officer, Bernard Murray. [46]:137,138 As this declaration was not immediately performed, confusion reigned over those attempting to administer aid on the pitch. [89] Phillips stated that the exclusion of their evidence was a 'serious error of judgement' by Popper. It also produced two criminal investigations led by police in 2012: Operation Resolve to look into the causes of the disaster, and by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to examine actions by police in the aftermath. [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. "[285], The Times was the only major UK newspaper not to give the story front-page coverage other than fellow News UK-owned Sun. 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. A Liverpool fan who suffered life-changing injuries in the Hillsborough disaster has died. . 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. "[255], In their history of The Sun, Peter Chippendale and Chris Horrie wrote:[256]. 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. "[131], After publication, the Hillsborough Families Support Group called for new inquests for the victims. [184][185][186], Home Secretary Theresa May announced on 18December 2012 that a new police inquiry would be initiated to examine the possibility of charging agencies other than the police over the Hillsborough deaths. [124] Their report was in 395 pages and delivered 153 key findings. I have come to the clear conclusion that there is no basis upon which there should be a further Judicial Inquiry or a reopening of Lord Taylor's Inquiry. Turnstiles numbered 1 to 10, ten in all, provided access to 9,700 seats in the North Stand; a further six turnstiles (numbered 11 to 16) provided access to 4,456 seats in the upper tier of the West Stand. 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-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. A memorial stone in the pavement on the south side of Liverpool's Anglican cathedral. 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. [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). [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. [289] As a result, Emap Australia, who owned FHM at the time, pledged to make a donation to the families of the victims. It was selected by the Football Association (FA) as a neutral venue to host the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest football clubs. [271], In February 2017, Liverpool F.C. The referee blew his whistle two minutes into the game to stop play and a minute's silence was held for those who lost their lives at Hillsborough. [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". Of those statements, 116 were amended to remove or change negative comments about South Yorkshire Police. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the two standing-only central pens in the Leppings Lane stand allocated to Liverpool supporters. 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. [18], A report by Eastwood & Partners for a safety certificate for the stadium in 1978 concluded that although it failed to meet the recommendations of the Green Guide, a guide to safety at sports grounds, the consequences were minor. The name, originally that of a hill in South Africa, usually refers to an unusually steep stand. [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. [267], James Murdoch made a full apology for The Sun's coverage when he appeared at a hearing of the House of Commons Select committee dealing with the News International phone hacking scandal in 2012. Nor do I consider that there is any justification for setting up any further inquiry into the performance of the emergency and hospital services. [278] Everton F.C. [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. He said of the Bradford families: "They did not harbour conspiracy theories. It obviously wasn't a silly mistake; nor was it a simple oversight. [263] Chris Horrie estimated in 2014 that the tabloid's owners had lost 15million per month since the disaster, in 1989 prices. [321], On the 20th anniversary of the disaster, BBC Radio 4 produced an episode of their series The Reunion on the subject of Hillsborough.