The decision is taken to withdraw feeding and hydration from 96th victim Tony Bland, who has remained in a persistent vegetative state since receiving his injuries at Hillsborough. Of the 96 people who were crushed, trampled or suffocated, 37 were teenagers, most still at school, many attending their first away game supporting Liverpool. The High Court rejects an application for judicial review of the inquest verdicts brought by six representative families. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Sir, I am the man in overall control, he replied. "We firmly believe that we have done everything in our power to do right by our Steven and we walk away from this case with our dignity and our heads held high.". So ashamed, embarrassed, distressed that at a later boardroom meeting of officials he failed to correct his lie - with one inquest witness claiming he actually repeated it. A police doctor certified him as "unfit to undertake the duties of a police constable" and diagnosed him with "severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder". The former police chief was barely seen or heard of in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. But in November 1991, a House of Lords ruling states that the chief constable of South Yorkshire has admitted liability in negligence in respect of the deaths and physical injuries. The inquest jury concludes that the 96 victims were unlawfully killed and that Liverpool fans behaviour did not contribute to the crush. By 2.45pm, thousands of people were pressing into the turnstiles and alongside a large exit gate. "With all due respect, my lord, 96 people were found unlawfully killed to a criminal standard," she said. Ms Aspinall, chairwoman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, thanked those who had supported the families over the past 31 years. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. On 28 November, the remaining jurors acquit Mr Duckenfield of gross negligence manslaughter, as the investigating police officer says the delay between the disaster and the trial should not have been allowed to happen. It was even more dispiriting to hear the defence barrister, Benjamin Myers QC, recycle all the rancid myths that grew out of Duckenfields dissembling: that fans turned up late, alcohol was a factor and supporters ignored police instructions. He also rejects a prosecution application to prevent tweeting from court, sharing articles on social media or embedding video into news articles. Jurors hear how a PCs account of the disaster was changed to remove criticisms of police, but notes about drunk fans were kept in. Former Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield, arriving at Preston Crown court for the start of his retrial for the manslaughter by gross negligence of 95 Liverpool supporters at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final. Mr Duckenfield said he felt the diagnosis was a "sign of weakness" and tried to "conceal" his conditions from family and colleagues but the publication of the report by the Hillsborough Independent Panel in 2012 and a TV programme he had seen about the disaster's effect on the families prompted him to finally tell the truth. A Hillsborough charity music single, a version of He Aint Heavy Hes My Brother, is confirmed as Christmas Number One days later. The passage of 30 years has presented challenges for everyone involved in the legal process, prosecution and defence. South Yorkshire Police match commander, David Duckenfield, is found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter for the deaths of 95 Liverpool fans, in a retrial, by a majority of 9-1. The jury found match commander - former Ch Supt David. A police chief told a "wicked lie" by suggesting Liverpool fans forced open a gate ahead of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, the inquests heard. Inquests open in Sheffield, heard by the local coroner, and South Yorkshire Police renews its argument that drunk supporters who arrived late and without tickets contributed to the disaster. The new Labour government orders a review of the evidence by Lord Justice Stuart-Smith. He said this as schoolboys, sisters, a dad and his son were among those crushed inside pens created because they were treated like thugs rather than humans. All you need to know about everything that matters. The man who caused so much pain has escaped the consequences. The prosecution alleged Mr Duckenfield had a "personal responsibility" for what happened at the match. The inquest heard Mr Duckenfield testify he was struggling to sleep in the run-up to the 1989 Taylor Inquiry, and claimed to be drinking "half tumblers of whisky" to "find the courage" to read statements. The entrance had a limited number of turnstiles, of which just seven were allocated to the 10,100 fans with tickets for the standing terraces. Three more defendants are still facing charges relating to Hillsborough: retired police officers Donald Denton, 80, and Alan Foster, 73, and police solicitor Peter Metcalf, 68, will all stand trial later this year. The finding undermines the decision made by the coroner in the first inquests to limit their scope to events before 3.15pm, and not consider the chaotic medical response after that point. I am now very much older, very much wiser and very much more understanding of the events of the day and have decided to tell the whole truth, Duckenfield said. The 96 Liverpool supporters unlawfully killed at Hillsborough. The farriers prosecution for perverting the course of justice is found not to be in the public interest and there is insufficient evidence against the police officer. It was David Duckenfield, Preston Crown Court heard, who told FA chiefs fans had gained entry through a forced stadium gate before the crush on the terraces beyond. The Week is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. 2023 BBC. because Duckenfield was acquitted in 2019 of a charge of gross negligence manslaughter, . Debate about Hillsborough should not be about football or the city of Liverpool; this is a matter of civic safety that has implications for everyone in British society. He admitted everything at the 2015 inquests into the disaster, saying that his professional failings led to the deaths of 96 innocent men, women and children. Several people whose family members died at Hillsborough in 1989 walked out of the new inquests into the disaster as the former policeman who commanded the FA Cup semi-final tried to explain why he had not told the truth for 26 years, and apologised again to them. Sir Peter Openshaw, the judge, told the jury that the inquests findings which were not discussed in court were quite irrelevant. Yet one thing that is crucial to remember is that today's verdict does not undo, undermine or cancel out the verdicts of those historic inquests. It was the founding myth of Hillsborough. David Duckenfield, who as an inexperienced chief superintendent in the South Yorkshire police was in charge of the match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, admitted he had not told the whole truth about mistakes he made on the day, through a succession of legal inquiries since 1989. It is hard to comprehend how the relatives have maintained their dignity in the face of numerous disappointments and crass treatment from the authorities. Now the Crown Prosecution Service could consider a prosecution against the former chief superintendent from South Yorkshire police after a jury decided his actions amounted to "manslaughter by gross negligence" due to a breach of his duty of care to fans. David Conn Tue 1 Apr 2014 16.32 EDT The South Yorkshire police officer in charge of the 1989 FA Cup semi-final at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough football ground, at which 96 Liverpool. The inquest jury finds that Hillsboroughs 96 victims were unlawfully killed and that Liverpool fans were not responsible for the disaster. "I think it's fair to say that it is arguably one of the biggest regrets of my life, that I did not foresee where fans would go when they came in through the gates," he said. But the Hillsborough families and survivors will find the outcome hard to take and will ask hard questions about the 65m spent on a criminal investigation which has ended with no one convicted for so many lives lost. It was not opened on orders from the police control box but by police in the area to eject a fan. The collapse of the latest Hillsborough trial comes after 30 years of legal battles over responsibility for the disaster, which claimed 96 lives on 15 April 1989. The match commander on the day, David Duckenfield, was cleared of gross. Live reporting from the Hillsborough Inquests, Families and players react to conclusions. He also admitted to a "terrible lie". Former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie apologises for the papers 1989 front page. Visit our corporate site www.futureplc.com Future Publishing Limited, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. This halts disciplinary proceedings being brought by the Police Complaints Authority. He acknowledged that even after he said he realised, at 3:04pm on the day, that he was facing a medical emergency not an incident of disorder, he called for police dogs to come to the ground, not ambulances. At the same hearing he admitted a cocktail of errors, ultimately telling his own barrister he accepted his professional failings led to the tragic crush. They live with the misery every day. The new Hillsborough inquests start in Warrington, and go on to become the longest case ever heard by a British jury. David Duckenfield was in charge of policing the 1989 FA Cup semi-final, The people who lost their lives in the Hillsborough disaster, The crush developed in the Leppings Lane end of Hillsborough stadium, David Duckenfield pictured in 1989, a month after the Hillsborough disaster, Ninety-six people were fatally injured in the 1989 disaster. That a publicly funded authority can lawfully withhold information from a public inquiry charged with finding out why 96 people died at a football match, in order to ensure that it never happened again or that a solicitor can advise such a withholding, without sanction of any sort, may be a matter which should be subject to scrutiny.. The Taylor Report causes UK-wide changes to football stadiums, seeing fencing removed and standing terraces converted to seating areas at large venues. A Liverpool fan, he was present at the Hillsborough disaster, The not-guilty verdict over the Hillsborough tragedy has grave implications for society, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Barry Devonside, whose son Christopher, 18, died in the disaster, said: "I'm shocked and stunned by the verdict of the jury. South Yorkshire coroner Dr Stefan Popper begins the inquest process into the deaths, but only considers events up until 3.15pm on the day of the disaster, nine minutes after the match was stopped, so the role of the emergency services after the disaster does not come under scrutiny. He was. The only effective way to ensure this sort of scenario is not repeated is accountability. After sitting for 31 days, the Taylor Inquiry publishes an interim report concluding that the main reason for the disaster was the failure of police control and criticising South Yorkshire Police for blaming Liverpool supporters. D avid Duckenfield can finally rest easily. It is true the same stadium exit gate he ordered to be opened at 2.52pm opened minutes earlier without his instruction. It was a catastrophic and deadly error. announcement by Labour minister Andy Burnham, Hillsborough Independent Panel publishes a report, Theresa May orders a new criminal investigation, The inquest jury concludes that the 96 victims were unlawfully killed. The scrutiny goes ahead but in February 1998, Lord Justice Stuart-Smith rejects grounds for quashing the accidental death verdicts or bringing prosecutions. Benjamin Myers QC told the jury his client had become "the focus of blame". 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