The Hillsborough Disaster Part II

 

Hillsborough Independent Panel

The Hillsborough Independent Panel was instituted in 2009 by the British government to investigate the Hillsborough disaster, to oversee the disclosure of documents about the disaster and its aftermath and to produce a report. On 12 September 2012, it published its report and simultaneously launched a website containing 450,000 pages of material collated from 85 organizations and individuals over two years.

History

In the years after the disaster, the Hillsborough Family Support Group had campaigned for the release of all relevant documents into the public domain. After the disaster's 20th anniversary in April 2009, supported by the Culture secretary, Andy Burnham, and Minister of State for Justice, Maria Eagle, the government asked the Home Office and Department of Culture, Media and Sport to investigate the best way for this information to be made public. In April 2009, the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced she had requested secret files concerning the disaster be made public.

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". An archive of all relevant documentation would be created and a report produced within two years explaining the work of the panel and its conclusions.

The panel was chaired by James Jones, the Bishop of Liverpool. Other members were:

Raju Bhatt, human rights lawyer

Christine Gifford, expert in the field of access to information

Katy Jones, investigative journalist

Bill Kirkup, Associate Chief Medical Officer in the Department of Health

Paul Leighton, former Deputy Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland

Professor Phil Scraton, expert in criminology

Peter Sissons, broadcaster (media)

Sarah Tyacke, formerly Chief Executive of the National Archives

Findings

On 12 September 2012, the Hillsborough Independent Panel concluded that no Liverpool fans were responsible in any way for the disaster, and that its main cause was a "lack of police control". Crowd safety was "compromised at every level" and overcrowding issues had been recorded two years earlier. 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. The number is based on post-mortem examinations which found some victims may have had heart, lung or blood circulation function for some time after being removed from the crush. 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. Their report was in 395 pages and delivered 153 key findings.

The findings concluded that 164 witness statements had been altered. Of those statements, 116 were amended to remove or change negative comments about South Yorkshire Police. 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". The report concluded that the then Conservative MP for Sheffield Hallam, Irvine Patnick, passed inaccurate and untrue information from the police to the press.

The panel noted that, despite being dismissed by the Taylor Report, the idea that alcohol contributed to the disaster proved remarkably durable. Documents disclosed confirm that repeated attempts were made to find supporting evidence for alcohol being a factor, and that available evidence was significantly misinterpreted. 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. It has since fueled persistent and unsustainable assertions about drunken fan behaviour".

The evidence it released online included altered police reports.

Effects

Subsequent apologies were released by Prime Minister David Cameron on behalf of the government, Ed Miliband on behalf of the opposition, Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, South Yorkshire Police, and former editor of The Sun, Kelvin MacKenzie, who apologized for making false accusations under the headline "The Truth". 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."

After publication, the Hillsborough Families Support Group called for new inquests for the victims.[ 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.

Calls were made for the resignation of police officers involved in the cover-up, and for Sheffield Wednesday, the police and the Football Association to admit their blame. Calls were also made for Sir Dave Richards to resign as chairman of the Premier League and give up his knighthood as a result of his conduct at Sheffield Wednesday at the time of the disaster. The Home Secretary called for investigations into law-breaking and promised resources to investigate individual or systematic issues.

On 23 October 2012, Norman Bettison resigned with immediate effect as Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, after Maria Eagle MP on the floor of the House and protected by parliamentary privilege, accused him of boasting about concocting a story that all the Liverpool fans were drunk and police were afraid they were going to break down the gates and decided to open them. Bettison denied the claim, and other allegations about his conduct, saying:

Fans' behavior, 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. But it didn't cause the disaster any more than the sunny day that encouraged people to linger outside the stadium as kick off approached. I held those views then, I hold them now. I have never, since hearing the Taylor evidence unfold, offered any other interpretation in public or private.

Merseyside Police Authority confirmed that Bettison would receive an £83,000 pension, unless convicted of a criminal offence. Hillsborough families called for the payments to be frozen during the IPCC investigation. In the same 22 October House of Commons debate, Stephen Mosley MP alleged West Midlands police pressured witnesses—both police and civilians—to change their statements. Maria Eagle confirmed her understanding that WMP actions in this respect would be the subject of IPCC scrutiny.

Second coroner's hearing

Following an application on 19 December 2012 by the Attorney General Dominic Grieve, the High Court quashed the verdicts in the original inquests and ordered fresh inquests to be held. Sir John Goldring was appointed as Assistant Coroner for South Yorkshire (East) and West Yorkshire (West) to conduct those inquests. The inquests hearings started on Monday 31 March 2014 at Warrington. Transcripts of the proceedings and evidence that was produced during the hearings were published at the Hillsborough Inquests official website. On 6 April 2016, the nine jurors were sent out to consider their verdicts. These were formally given to the inquests at 11:00 on 26 April 2016. The jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing in respect of all 96 victims (by majority verdict of 7–2). 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:

Let's be honest about this—people were against us. We had the media against us, as well as the establishment. 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.

On the day after the verdicts were reached, the Home Secretary, Theresa May, made a statement to Parliament which included the verdicts of the jury to the fourteen questions they had been asked regarding the roles of South Yorkshire police, the South Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service, Sheffield Wednesday football club and Hillsborough stadium's engineers and two specific questions specific relating to the time and cause of death for each of the dead. In addition to the "unlawful killing" verdict, the jury concluded that "errors or omissions" by police commanding officers, Sheffield Wednesday, the ambulance service and the design and certification of the stadium had all "caused or contributed" to the deaths, but that the behaviour of football supporters had not. In all but one case, the jury recorded the time of death as later than the 3:15 pm cut-off point adopted by the coroner at the original inquests.

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." The Labour Party described the handling of the Hillsborough disaster as the "greatest miscarriage of justice of our times", with Labor MPs Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram calling for accountability and the prosecution of those responsible. 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.

Echoing his 2012 expression of regret former Home Secretary Jack Straw apologized to the families for the failures of his 1997 review of the disaster.

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". However, MacKenzie did not accept any personal responsibility for the story.

During the inquests, Maxwell Groome—a police constable at the time of the disaster—made allegations of a high-level "conspiracy" by Freemasons to shift blame for the disaster onto Superintendent Roger Marshall, also that junior officers were pressured into changing their statements after the disaster, and told not to write their accounts in their official police pocketbooks. 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). Coroner Sir John Goldring warned the jury that there was "not a shred of evidence" that any Masonic meeting actually took place, or that those named were all Freemasons, advising the jury to cast aside "gossip and hearsay". During the inquests, Duckenfield confirmed that he became a Freemason in 1975 and became Worshipful Master of his local lodge in 1990, a year after the disaster; following this revelation, Freemasons were forbidden to take part in the IPCC investigation and Operation Resolve as civilian investigators to prevent any perceived bias.

Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation

Following the inquests verdicts, South Yorkshire police announced it would refer the actions of its officers to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). West Yorkshire Police announced it would refer its Chief Constable, Norman Bettison, to the IPCC in mid-September. Bettison had been one of a number of police officers who were accused of manipulating evidence by the Hillsborough Independent Panel. In early October, Bettison announced his retirement, becoming the first senior figure to step down since publication of the panel's report.

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.

By 22 October 2012, the names of at least 1,444 serving and former police officers had been referred to the IPCC investigation. In its announcement, the IPCC praised the tenacity of the Hillsborough families' campaign for truth and justice. 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.

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. Deborah Glass, deputy chair of the IPCC said, "We know the people who have contacted us are the tip of the iceberg." That was after the IPCC's Hillsborough Contact team had received 230 pieces of correspondence since October 2012.

The IPCC is 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.

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 Commission—Operation Resolve—had been completed.

'The patronizing disposition of unaccountable power' report

Commissioned by the Home Secretary Theresa May, a report was published on 1 November 2017 by the Right Reverend James Jones titled The patronizing disposition of unaccountable power: A report to ensure that the pain and suffering of the Hillsborough families is not repeated.

Criminal and civil cases

Prosecutions

In February 2000, a private prosecution was brought against Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield and another officer, Bernard Murray. The prosecution argued that the crush was "foreseeable" hence the defendants were "grossly negligent". 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. Jones stated that minutes after the disaster, Duckenfield "deceitfully and dishonestly" told senior FA officials that the supporters had forced the gate open. Duckenfield admitted that he had lied in certain statements regarding the causes of the disaster. The prosecution ended on 24 July 2000, when Murray was acquitted and the jury was unable to reach a verdict in the case of Duckenfield. On 26 July, the judge refused the prosecution's application for a retrial of Duckenfield.

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. Duckenfield took medical retirement on a full police pension.

Home Secretary Theresa May announced on 18 December 2012 that a new police inquiry would be initiated to examine the possibility of charging agencies other than the police over the Hillsborough deaths. The inquiry was first headed by former Durham Chief Constable Jon Stoddart, and later by Assistant Commissioner Rob Beckley.

On 28 June 2017, it was announced that six people were to be charged with offences in relation to the disaster. Former Chief Superintendent Duckenfield, in charge of the match, faced 95 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence. He faced no charge in respect of the death of Tony Bland, who died four years after the disaster. Former Chief Inspector Sir Norman Bettinson faced four counts of misconduct in public office. Former Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Club Secretary Graham Mackrell faced a charge of breaching the Safety at Sports Ground Act 1975. Solicitor Peter Metcalf, former Chief Superintendent Donald Denton, and former Detective Chief Inspector Alan Foster were all charged with perverting the course of justice, for having altered 68 police officers' statements in order to "mask the failings" of the police force.

On 9 August 2017, all except Duckenfield appeared at Warrington Magistrates Court. Mackrell pleaded not guilty to the charge against him. No formal pleas were taken from the other four defendants. All five were bailed to appear at the Crown Court in September. 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. On 29 June 2018, a ruling was made that Duckenfield would be prosecuted on the manslaughter charges.

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. 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. There was insufficient evidence against the police officer to charge him with the offence.

On 21 August 2018, it was announced that all charges against Bettison were being dropped as the CPS felt that there was insufficient evidence to have a realistic chance of a conviction. The death of two witnesses and contradictions in the evidence of others were cited as part of the reason for the decision. Representatives of the 96 victims of the disaster stated that they would be asking for an independent review of the decision under the Right to Review Scheme.

At a trial preparation hearing at Preston Crown Court on 10 September 2018, Duckenfield pleaded not guilty to all 95 charges against him. Mackrell pleaded not guilty to the two charges against him. A provisional trial date was set for 14 January 2019, on which date the trial started at Preston Crown Court before Mr Justice Openshaw.

On 13 March 2019, it was reported that Duckenfield would not be called to give evidence in his defence. 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. On 3 April, the jury returned with a guilty verdict against Mackrell on a health and safety charge but was unable to reach a verdict on Duckenfield. It was announced on 25 June that Duckenfield would face a retrial, which was scheduled to start on 7 October at Preston Crown Court. On 28 November 2019, Duckenfield was found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter.

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. Consequently, a course of public justice could not have been perverted. The ruling also noted that the original statements had neither been destroyed, nor had they been ordered to be destroyed.

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". Garston and Halewood MP Maria Eagle called for the law to be changed to "prevent another catastrophic failure of justice".

Psychiatric injury and other litigation

Various negligence cases were brought against the police by spectators who had been at the ground but had not been in the pens, and by people who watched the incident unfolding on television (or heard about it on the radio). A case, Alcock v. Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1992] 1 A.C. 310, was eventually appealed to the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords and was an important milestone in the law of claims of secondary victims for negligently inflicted psychiatric injury. It was held that claimants who watched the disaster on television/listened on radio were not 'proximal' and their claims were rejected.

Another psychiatric injury claim was brought to the House of Lords, White v. Chief Constable of the South Yorkshire Police [1999] 2 A.C. 455. It was brought by police officers on duty against the chief constable who was said to have been vicariously liable for the disaster. Their claims were dismissed and the Alcock decision was upheld. It affirmed the position of the courts once again towards claims of psychiatric injuries of secondary victims.

A third legal case which resulted from the Hillsborough disaster was Airedale N.H.S. 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.

In April 2016, a private prosecution was launched on behalf of victims' relatives against both SYP and the West Midlands Police force (who had investigated the actions of SYP), alleging a concerted cover-up designed to shift blame away from the police. An agreement was reached in the case in April 2021, but reporting restrictions were put in place due to the pending trial of Denton, Foster and Metcalf. Following the finding that they did not have a case to answer, the restrictions were lifted.

Memorials

Permanent memorials

Several memorials have been erected in memory of the victims of the Hillsborough disaster.

Flames were added either side of the Liverpool F.C. crest in memory of the fans who lost their lives in the Hillsborough disaster.

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. It was modified with a 97th name after a victim of the disaster died in 2021.

A memorial at Hillsborough stadium, unveiled on the tenth anniversary of the disaster on 15 April 1999, reads: "In memory of the 96 men, women, and children who tragically died and the countless people whose lives were changed forever. FA Cup semi-final Liverpool v. Nottingham Forest. 15 April 1989. 'You'll never walk alone.'"

A memorial stone in the pavement on the south side of Liverpool's Anglican cathedral.

A memorial garden in Hillsborough Park with a 'You'll never walk alone' gateway.

A headstone at the junction of Middlewood Road, Leppings Lane and Wadsley Lane, near the ground and by the Sheffield Supertram route.

A Hillsborough Memorial Rose Garden in Port Sunlight, Wirral.