Before the disaster
Venue
Hillsborough Stadium had been constructed in 1899 to housePrevious incidents
Hillsborough hosted five FA Cup semi-finals in the 1980s. A crush occurred at the Leppings-Lane end of the ground during the 1981 semi-final betweenSouth Yorkshire Police command changes
Police presence at the previous year's FA Cup semi-final (also between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest and also at Hillsborough Stadium) had been overseen by Chief Superintendent Brian L. Mole. Mole had supervised numerous police deployments at the stadium in the past. In October 1988 a probationary PC in Mole's F division, South Yorkshire was handcuffed, photographed, and stripped by fellow officers in a fake robbery, as a hazing prank. Four officers resigned and seven were disciplined over the incident. Chief Superintendent Mole himself was to be transferred to the Barnsley division for "career development reasons". The transfer was to be done with immediate effect on 27 March 1989. Meanwhile, Hillsborough was accepted as the FA Cup semi-final venue on 20 March 1989 by the Football Association. The first planning meeting for the semi-final took place on 22 March and was attended by newly promoted Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield, not by Mole. No known minutes exist of this meeting. Although Mole could have been assigned the semi-final match's planning despite his transfer, that was not done. 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.Disaster
Build-up
Opposing supporters were segregated, as is common at domestic matches in England. Nottingham Forest supporters were allocated the South Stands and Spion Kop on the east end, with a combined capacity of 29,800, reached by 60 turnstiles spaced along two sides of the ground. Liverpool supporters were allocated the North and West ends (Leppings Lane), holding 24,256 fans, reached by 23 turnstiles from a narrow concourse. 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. Finally, seven turnstiles (lettered A to G) provided access to 10,100 standing places in the lower tier of the West Stand. Although Liverpool had more supporters, Nottingham Forest was allocated the larger area, to avoid the approach routes of rival fans crossing. As a result of the stadium layout and segregation policy, turnstiles that would normally have been used to enter the North Stand from the east were off-limits and all Liverpool supporters had to converge on a single entrance at Leppings Lane. On the day of the match, radio and television broadcasters advised fans without tickets not to attend. 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'.Timeline
Three chartered trains transported Liverpool supporters to Sheffield for a match in 1988, but only one such train ran in 1989. The 350 passengers arrived at the ground at about 2:20 pm. Many supporters wished to enjoy the day and were in no hurry to enter the stadium too early. Some supporters were delayed by roadworks while crossing the Pennines on theCrush
When the gates were opened, thousands of fans entered a narrow tunnel leading from the rear of the terrace into two overcrowded central pens (pens 3 and 4), creating pressure at the front. Hundreds of people were pressed against one another and the fencing by the weight of the crowd behind them. People entering were unaware of the problems at the fence; police or stewards usually stood at the entrance to the tunnel and, when the central pens reached capacity, directed fans to the side pens, but on this occasion, for reasons not fully explained, they did not. The match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest began as scheduled at 3:00 pm. Fans were still streaming into pens 3 and 4 from the rear entrance tunnel as the match began. 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. Liverpool's goalkeeper,SYMAS response to the crush
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. Any individuals within the stadium in need of medical attention were to be delivered expeditiously by police and paramedics to the CRP. The system of ferrying injured any location within the stadium the CRP required a formal declaration to be made by those in charge for it to take effect. As this declaration was not immediately performed, confusion reigned over those attempting to administer aid on the pitch. This confusion migrated to the first responders waiting in ambulances at the CRP, a location which quickly deteriorated into an ambulance parking lot. Some crews were hesitant to leave their vehicles, unsure of whether patients were coming to them, or vice versa. Others who did leave their vehicles were then faced with the obstacles inherent in placing distance between themselves and their equipment. As the Panel explained in their report: A total of 42 ambulances arrived at the stadium. Out of this number, two managed of their own accord to make their way onto the pitch—while a third ambulance made its way onto the pitch at the direction of DCAO Hopkins, who felt its visibility might allay crowd concerns. The remaining 39 ambulances were collectively able to transport approximately 149 people to eitherReactions
Condolences flooded in from across the world, led byDisaster appeal fund
A disaster appeal fund was set up with donations of £500,000 from theEffect on survivors
By the disaster's 10th anniversary in 1999, at least three people who survived were known to have taken their own lives. Another survivor had spent eight years in psychiatric care. There were cases of alcoholism, drug abuse, and collapsed marriages involving people who had witnessed the events. The lingering effects of the disaster were seen as a cause, or contributory factor, in all of these.Victims
In total, ninety-seven people died as a result of injuries incurred during the disaster. 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. A total of 766 people were reported to have suffered injuries, among whom 300 were hospitalised. The less seriously injured survivors who did not live in the Sheffield area were advised to seek treatment for their injuries at hospitals nearer to their homes. On 19 April, the death toll reached 95 when 14-year-old Lee Nicol died in hospital after being taken off life support. The death toll reached 96 in March 1993, when artificial feeding and hydration were withdrawn from 22-year-old Tony Bland after nearly four years, during which time he had remained in a persistent vegetative state showing no sign of improvement. This followed a legal challenge in the High Court by his family to have his treatment withdrawn, a landmark challenge which succeeded in November 1992. Andrew Devine, aged 22 at the time of the disaster, suffered similar injuries to Tony Bland and was also diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state. In March 1997—just before the eighth anniversary of the disaster—it 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. Devine died in 2021, as a consequence of the injuries sustained at Hillsborough, with his death being ruled by the coroner to have been an unlawful killing, raising the total death toll of the disaster to 97. Two sisters, three pairs of brothers, and a father and son were among those who died, as were two men about to become fathers for the first time: 25-year-old Steven Brown of Wrexham and 30-year-old Peter Thompson of Widnes. Jon-Paul Gilhooley, aged 10, was the youngest person to die. His cousin, Steven Gerrard, then aged 8, went on to become Liverpool F.C.'s captain. Gerrard has said the disaster inspired him to lead the team he supported as a boy and become a top professional football player. The oldest person to die at Hillsborough was 67-year-old Gerard Baron, an older brother of former Liverpool player Kevin Baron (footballer), Kevin Baron. 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. The majority of victims who died were from Liverpool (37) and Liverpool City Region, Greater Merseyside (20). A further 20 were from counties adjacent to Merseyside. An additional three victims came from Sheffield with two more living in counties adjacent to South Yorkshire. The remaining 14 victims lived in other parts of England.Ages
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. Andrew Devine, who was 22 at the time of the disaster, died in 2021 at the age of 55.1989–1991 coroner's hearing
Inquests into the deaths were opened and adjourned immediately after the disaster. Resumed on 19 November 1990, they proved to be controversial. South Yorkshire coroner Dr Stefan Popper limited the main inquests to events up to 3:15 pm on the day of the disaster—nine minutes after the match was halted and the crowd spilt onto the pitch. Popper said this was because the victims were either dead, or brain dead, by 3:15 pm. The decision angered the families, many of whom felt the inquests were unable to consider the response of the police and other emergency services after that time. The inquests returned verdicts ofTaylor Inquiry
After the disaster, Peter Taylor, Baron Taylor of Gosforth, Lord Justice Taylor was appointed to conduct an inquiry into the events. The Taylor Inquiry sat for a total of 31 days (between 15 May and 29 June 1989) and published two reports: an #Taylor1989, interim report (1 August 1989) which laid out the events of the day and immediate conclusions; and a #Taylor1990, final report (19 January 1990) which outlined general recommendations on football ground safety. The two publications together became known as the Taylor Report. Taylor concluded that policing on the day "broke down" and "the main reason for the disaster was the failure of police control". Attention was focused on the decision to open the secondary gates; moreover, the kick-off should have been delayed, as had been done at other venues and matches. Sheffield Wednesday was also criticised for the inadequate number of turnstiles at the Leppings Lane end and the poor quality of the crush barriers on the terraces, "respects in which failure by the Club contributed to this disaster".Police control
Taylor found there was "no provision" for controlling the entry of spectators into the turnstile area. 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. He said that "the Operational Order and police tactics on the day failed to provide for controlling a concentrated arrival of large numbers should that occur in a short period. That it might so occur was foreseeable". 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". There was no means for calculating when individual enclosures had reached capacity. A police officer ordinarily made a visual assessment before guiding fans to other pens. However, on the day of the disaster, "by 2:52 pm when gate C was opened, pens 3 and 4 were over-full [...] to allow any more into those pens was likely to cause injuries; to allow in a large stream was courting disaster". The report noted that the official capacity of the central pens was 2,200, that the Health and Safety Executive found this should have been reduced to 1,693 due to crush barriers and perimeter gates, but actually an estimated 3,000 people were in the pens around 3:00 pm. The report said "When spectators first appeared on the track, the immediate assumption in the control room was that a pitch invasion was threatened. This was unlikely at the beginning of a match. It became still less likely when those on the track made no move towards the pitch. ... [T]here was no effective leadership either from control or on the pitch to harness and organise rescue efforts. No orders were given for officers to enter the tunnel and relieve pressure". 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". 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. Had it been reversed, the disaster could well have occurred in a similar manner but to Nottingham supporters". Lord Taylor noted with regard to the performance of the senior police officers in command that "...neither their handling of the problems on the day nor their account of it in evidence showed the qualities of leadership to be expected of their rank".Behaviour of fans
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". He concluded that this formed an exacerbating factor but that police, seeking to rationalise their loss of control, overestimated the element of drunkenness in the crowd. 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.Emergency response
Taylor concluded that in responding to the disaster there had been no fault on the part of the emergency services (St John Ambulance, South Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service and fire brigade).Police evasion
Taylor concluded his criticism of South Yorkshire Police by describing senior officers in command as "defensive and evasive witnesses" who refused to accept any responsibility for error: "In all some 65 police officers gave oral evidence at the Inquiry. Sadly I must report that for the most part the quality of their evidence was in inverse proportion to their rank". Further stating: "South Yorkshire Police were not prepared to concede they were in any respect at fault in what occurred. ... [T]he police case was to blame the fans for being late and drunk, and to blame the Club for failing to monitor the pens. ... Such an unrealistic approach gives cause for anxiety as to whether lessons have been learnt".Effect on stadiums in Britain
The Taylor Report had a deep impact on safety standards for stadiums in the UK. Perimeter and lateral fencing was removed and many top stadiums were converted to All-seater stadium, all-seated. Purpose-built stadiums for Premier League and most Football League teams since the report are all-seater. Chester City F.C.'s Deva Stadium was the first English football stadium to fulfil the safety recommendations of the Taylor Report, with Millwall F.C.'s The Den being the first new stadium to be built that fulfilled the recommendations. In July 1992, the government announced a relaxation of the regulation for the lower two English leagues (known now as League One and League Two). The Football Spectators Act does not cover Scotland, but the Scottish Premier League chose to make all-seater stadiums a requirement of league membership. In England and Wales all-seating is a requirement of the Premier League and of the Football League for clubs who have been present in the Championship for more than three seasons. Several campaigns have attempted to get the government to relax the regulation and allow standing areas to return to Premiership and Championship grounds.Stuart-Smith scrutiny
In May 1997, when the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party came into office, Home Secretary Jack Straw ordered an investigation. It was performed by Lord Justice Stuart-Smith. The appointment of Stuart-Smith was not without controversy. At a meeting in Liverpool with relatives of those involved in Hillsborough in October 1997, he flippantly remarked "Have you got a few of your people or are they like the Liverpool fans, turn up at the last minute?" He later apologised for his remark, saying it was not intended to offend. The terms of reference of his inquiry were limited to "new evidence", that is "...evidence which was not available or was not presented to the previous inquiries, courts or authorities." Therefore, evidence such as witness statements which had been altered were classed as admissible evidence, inadmissible. When he presented his report in February 1998, he concluded that there was insufficient evidence for a new inquiry into the disaster. In paragraph 5 of his summary, Lord Justice Stuart-Smith said: Importantly, Stuart-Smith's report supported the coroner's assertion that evidence after 3:15 pm was inadmissible as "that by 3:15 pm the principal cause of death, that is, the crushing, was over." This was controversial as the subsequent response of the police and emergency services would not be scrutinised. Announcing the report to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, Home Secretary Jack Straw backed Stuart-Smith's findings and said that "I do not believe that a further inquiry could or would uncover significant new evidence or provide any relief for the distress of those who have been bereaved." However, the determination by Stuart-Smith was heavily criticised by the Justice Minister, Charlie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton, Lord Falconer, who stated "I am absolutely sure that Sir Murray Stuart-Smith came completely to the wrong conclusion". Falconer added: "It made the families in the Hillsborough disaster feel after one establishment cover-up, here was another."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 organisations 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 Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Culture secretary, Andy Burnham, and Ministry of Justice, Minister of State for Justice, Maria Eagle, the government asked the Home Office and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, 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 (bishop), 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 (United Kingdom), Chief Medical Officer in the Department of Health (United Kingdom), 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 (United Kingdom), the National ArchivesFindings
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 Police National Computer, national police database in an attempt to "impugn their reputation". The report concluded that the then Conservative MP for Sheffield Hallam (UK Parliament constituency), 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 fuelled 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 His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition, opposition, Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, South Yorkshire Police, and former editor of ''The Sun'', Kelvin MacKenzie, who apologised 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 Dave Richards, 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: 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. John Goldring, 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: 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 (UK), Labour Party described the handling of the Hillsborough disaster as the "greatest miscarriage of justice of our times", with Labour MPs Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram calling for accountability and the prosecution of those responsible. Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrat MP John Pugh called for David Cameron to make a formal apology in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, 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 apologised 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'The patronising 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 patronising 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 (police officer), 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 ofPsychiatric 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 'wikt:proximal, 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 (sports), 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 Peninsula, Wirral. * A memorial rose garden on Sudley House, Sudley Estate in South Liverpool (also known as the APH). Each of the six rose beds has a centre piece of a white standard rosebush, surrounded by red rose bushes, named 'Liverpool Remember'. There are brass memorial plaques on both sets of gates to the garden, and a sundial inscribed with the words: "''Time Marches On But We Will Always Remember''". * In the grounds of Crosby, Merseyside, Crosby Library, to the memory of the 18 football fans from Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Sefton who lost their lives in the Hillsborough disaster. The memorial, sited in a raised rose bed containing the Liverpool Remembers red rose, is made of black granite. It is inscribed "''In loving memory of the 96 football supporters who died at Hillsborough, Sheffield on 15 April 1989. Of those who lost their lives the following young men were from Sefton families.''" The memorial was unveiled on 4 October 1991 (two years before the death of Tony Bland) by the Mayor of Sefton, Councillor Syd Whitby. The project was carried out by the Council after consultation with the Sefton Survivors Group. * A seven-foot-high circular bronze memorial was unveiled in the Old Haymarket district of Liverpool in April 2013. This memorial is inscribed with the words: "Hillsborough Disaster – we will remember them", and displays the names of the 96 victims who died. * An eight-foot-high clock, dating from the 1780s, was installed at Liverpool Town Hall in April 2013, with the hands indicating 3:06 (the time at which the match was abandoned). * A memorial plaque dedicated to the 96 at Goodison Park in Liverpool, home of local rivals Everton Football Club, Everton F.C. *Hillsborough Oaks - 96 oak trees planted in Cross Hillocks Wood, next to the Knowsley Expressway, with a memorial unveiled on 20 September 2000.Memorial ceremonies
The disaster has been acknowledged on 15 April every year by the community in Liverpool and football in general. An annual memorial ceremony is held at Anfield and at a church in Liverpool. The 10th and 20th anniversaries were marked by special services to remember the victims. From 2007, an annual Hillsborough Memorial service was held at Spion Kop (mountain), Spion Kop, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The ceremony was held on the Spion Kop Battlefield which gave its name to the Spion Kop (stadiums), Kop Stand at Anfield. There is a permanent memorial to the 96 fans who died, in the form of a bench in view of the battlefield at a nearby lodge. Dean Davis and David Walters, South African Liverpool supporters, were responsible for the service and the bench was commissioned by Guy Prowse in 2008. Following on from (and out of respect for) the Hillsborough families' decision to conclude official memorials at Anfield with a final service in 2016, it was decided not to hold any further memorials at Spion Kop. The Memorial bench remains at Spion Kop Lodge. In 2014, to mark the 25th anniversary of the disaster, the FA decided that all FA Cup, Premier League, Football League, and Football Conference matches played between 11–14 April would kick-off seven minutes later than originally scheduled with a six-minute delay and a one-minute silence tribute.10th anniversary
In 1999, Anfield was packed with a crowd of around 10,000 people ten years after the disaster. A candle was lit for each of the 96 victims. The clock at the Kop End stood still at 3:06 pm, 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. A service led by the Right Reverend James Jones (bishop), James Jones, the Bishop of Liverpool, was attended by past and present Liverpool players, including Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and Alan Hansen. According to the BBC report: ''"The names of the victims were read from the memorial book and floral tributes were laid at a plaque bearing their names."'' A gospel choir performed and the ceremony ended with a rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone (song), You'll Never Walk Alone". The anniversary was also marked by a minute's silence at the weekend's league games and FA Cup semi-finals.20th anniversary
In 2009, on the 20th anniversary of the disaster, Liverpool's request that their 2008–09 UEFA Champions League#Quarter-finals, Champions League quarter-finals return leg, scheduled for 15 April, be played the day before was granted. The event was remembered with a ceremony at Anfield attended by over 28,000 people. The Kop, Centenary and Main Stands were opened to the public before part of the Anfield Road End was opened to supporters. The memorial service, led by the Bishop of Liverpool began at 14:45 British Summer Time, BST and a two-minute silence (observed across Liverpool and in Sheffield and Nottingham, including public transport coming to a stand-still) was held at the time of the disaster twenty years earlier, 15:06 BST. Burnham, by then the Sports Minister, addressed the crowd but was heckled by supporters chanting ''"Justice for the 96"''. 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. Team captain Steven Gerrard and vice-captain Jamie Carragher handed the freedom of the city to the families of all the victims. Candles were lit for each of the 96 people who died. Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool's manager at the time of the disaster, read a passage from the Bible, "Lamentations of Jeremiah". The Liverpool manager, Rafael Benítez, set 96 balloons free. The ceremony ended with 96 rings of church bells across the city and a rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone". Other services took place at the same time, including at the Anglican Liverpool Cathedral and the Roman Catholic Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. After the two minutes' silence, bells on civic buildings rang out throughout Merseyside. A song was released to mark the 20th anniversary, entitled "Fields of Anfield Road" which peaked at No. 14 in the UK charts. Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester United F.C., Manchester United players showed respect by wearing black armbands during their Champions League quarter-final matches on 14 and 15 April 2009. On 14 May, more than 20,000 people packed Anfield for a match held in memory of the victims. The Liverpool Legends, comprising ex-Liverpool footballers beat the All Stars, captained by actor Ricky Tomlinson, 3–1. The event also raised cash for the Marina Dalglish Appeal which was contributed towards a radiotherapy centre at University Hospital in Aintree. 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. At least 96 current and former Liverpool footballers are being lined up to raise £96,000 by auctioning a limited edition (of 96) signed photographs. On 11 April 2009, Liverpool fans sang "You'll Never Walk Alone" as a tribute to the upcoming anniversary of the disaster before the home game against Blackburn Rovers F.C., Blackburn Rovers (which ended in Liverpool winning 4–0) and was followed by former Liverpool player, Stephen Warnock presenting a memorial wreath to the Kop showing the figure '' 96 '' in red flowers.Other tributes
The Hillsborough disaster touched not only Liverpool, but football clubs in England and around the world. Supporters of Everton, Liverpool's traditional local rivals, were affected, many of them having lost friends and family. Supporters laid down flowers and blue and white scarves to show respect for the dead and unity with fellow Merseysiders. On Wednesday 19 April 1989, four days after the disaster, the second leg of the 1988–89 European Cup#Semi-finals, European Cup semi-final tie between A.C. Milan and Real Madrid C.F., Real Madrid was played. 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. Halfway through the minute's silence, the A.C. Milan fans sang Liverpool's "You'll Never Walk Alone" as a sign of respect. In April 1989, Bradford City and Lincoln City held a friendly match to benefit the victims of Hillsborough. The occasion was the first in which the two teams had met since the 1985 Bradford City stadium fire that had claimed 56 lives at Valley Parade. On 30 April 1989, a friendly match organised by Celtic F.C. was played at Celtic Park, Glasgow, between the home club and Liverpool. This game was Liverpool's first appearance on the football field since the disaster two weeks earlier. The crowd numbered more than 60,000, including around 6,000 Liverpool fans, and all the match proceeds went to the Hillsborough appeal fund. Liverpool won the match by four goals to nil. As a result of the disaster, Liverpool's scheduled match against Arsenal was delayed from 23 April until the end of the season, and the game eventually decided the 1988–89 Football League, league title. At the rescheduled fixture, Arsenal players brought flowers onto the pitch and presented them to the Liverpool fans around the stadium before the game commenced. 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. 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.Controversies
Media portrayal
Initial media coverage—spurred by what Phil Scraton calls in ''Hillsborough: The Truth'' "the Heysel Stadium disaster, Heysel factor" and Football hooliganism in the United Kingdom, "hooligan hysteria"—began to shift the blame onto the behaviour of the Liverpool fans at the stadium, making it a public order issue. As well as ''The Sun''s 19 April 1989 "The Truth" article (see below) other newspapers published similar allegations; the ''Daily Star (British newspaper), Daily Star'' headline on the same day reported "Dead fans robbed by drunk thugs"; the ''Daily Mail'' accused the Liverpool fans of being "drunk and violent and their actions were vile", and ''The Daily Express'' ran a story alleging that "Police saw 'sick spectacle of pilfering from the dying'." Peter McKay in the ''Evening Standard'' wrote that the "catastrophe was caused first and foremost by violent enthusiasm for soccer and in this case the tribal passions of Liverpool supporters [who] literally killed themselves and others to be at the game" and published a front-page headline "Police attack 'vile' fans" on 18 April 1989, in which police sources blamed the behaviour of a section of Liverpool fans for the disaster. In Liverpool local journalist John Williams of the ''Liverpool Daily Post'' wrote in an article titled "I Blame the Yobs" that "The gatecrashers wreaked their fatal havoc ... Their uncontrolled fanaticism and mass hysteria ... literally squeezed the life out of men, women and children ... yobbism at its most base ... Scouse killed Scouse for no better reason than 22 men were kicking a ball". In other regional newspapers, the ''Manchester Evening News'' wrote that the "Anfield Army charged on to the terrace behind the goal—many without tickets", and the ''Yorkshire Post'' wrote that the "trampling crush" had been started by "thousands of fans" who were "latecomers ... forc[ing] their way into the ground". The ''Sheffield Star'' published similar allegations to ''The Sun'', running the headline "Fans in Drunken Attacks on Police". Many of the more serious allegations—such as stealing from the dead and assault of police officers and rescue workers—appeared on 18 April, 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. This included the Wolverhampton-based ''Express & Star'', which reported that the match had been cancelled as a result of a "pitch invasion in which many fans were injured". This article was presumably published before there were any reports that people had been killed. These media reports and others were examined during the 2012 Hillsborough Independent Panel report.''The Sun''
On 19 April, four days after the disaster, Kelvin MacKenzie, editor of ''The Sun (United Kingdom), The Sun'', ordered "The Truth" as the front-page headline, followed by three sub-headlines: "Some fans picked pockets of victims", "Some fans urinated on the brave cops" and "Some fans beat up Constable#United Kingdom, PC giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, kiss of life". Mackenzie reportedly spent two hours deciding on which headline to run; his original instinct being for "You Scum" before eventually deciding on "The Truth". The information was provided to the newspaper by Whites News Agency in Sheffield; the newspaper cited claims by police inspector Gordon Sykes, that Liverpool fans had pickpocketed the dead, as well as other claims by unnamed police officers and local Conservative MP Irvine Patnick. ''The Daily Express'' also carried Patnick's version, under the headline "Police Accuse Drunken Fans" which gave Patnick's views, saying he had told Margaret Thatcher, while escorting her on a tour of the ground after the disaster, of the "mayhem caused by drunks" and that policemen told him they were "hampered, harassed, punched and kicked". The story accompanying ''The Sun'' headlines claimed "drunken Liverpool fans viciously attacked rescue workers as they tried to revive victims" and "police officers, firemen and ambulance crew were punched, kicked and urinated upon". A quotation, attributed to an unnamed policeman, claimed a partially unclothed dead girl had been verbally abused, and that Liverpool fans were "openly urinating on us and the bodies of the dead". In fact many Liverpool fans helped security personnel stretcher away victims and gave first aid to the injured. ''The Guardian'' later wrote that "The claim that supporters higher up the Leppings Lane terrace had urinated on police pulling bodies out of the crush appeared to have roots in the fact that those who were dying or sustaining serious injuries suffered Asphyxia#Compressive asphyxia, compression asphyxia and many wikt:involuntary, involuntarily urinated, vomited and emptied their bowels as they were crushed." In their history of ''The Sun'', Peter Chippendale and Chris Horrie wrote: MacKenzie maintained for years that his "only mistake was to believe a Tory MP". In 1993, he told a House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons committee, "I regret Hillsborough. It was a fundamental mistake. The mistake was I believed what an MP said", but privately said at a 2006 dinner that he had only apologised under the instruction of Rupert Murdoch, believing: "all I did wrong was tell the truth ... I was not sorry then and I'm not sorry now". On ''Question Time'' the next year, MacKenzie publicly repeated the claims he said at the dinner; he said that he believed some of the material they published in ''The Sun'' but was not sure about all of it. He said in 2012, "Twenty-three years ago I was handed a piece of copy from a reputable news agency in Sheffield in which a senior police officer and a senior local MP were making serious allegations against fans in the stadium... these allegations were wholly untrue and were part of a concerted plot by police officers to discredit the supporters... I published in good faith and I am sorry that it was so wrong". A member of the Hillsborough Families Support Group responded "too little, too late". Widespread boycotts of the newspaper throughout Merseyside followed immediately and continue to this day. Boycotts include both customers refusing to purchase it, and retailers refusing to stock it. The ''Financial Times'' reported in 2019 that Merseyside sales were estimated to drop from 55,000 per day to 12,000 per day, an 80% decrease. Chris Horrie estimated in 2014 that the tabloid's owners had lost £15million per month since the disaster, in 1989 prices. The Hillsborough Justice Campaign organised a less successful national boycott that had some impact on the paper's sales nationally. In 2004, after Wayne Rooney gave exclusive interviews to ''The Sun'', causing backlash in Liverpool, ''The Sun'' ran a front page story apologising for "the most terrible mistake in its history", saying "We long ago apologised publicly... We gladly say sorry again today: fully, openly, honestly and without reservation". It said criticism of Rooney was wrong and co-ordinated by the ''Liverpool Echo'' and ''Liverpool Post''. The ''Liverpool Echo'' condemned the apology as "cynical and shameless". In 2012, under the headline "The Real Truth", ''The Sun'' made a front page apology, saying "we are profoundly sorry for false reports". The editor at the time, Dominic Mohan, wrote: "We published an inaccurate and offensive story about the events at Hillsborough. We said it was the truth - it wasn't... for that we're deeply ashamed and profoundly sorry". Following the second inquest in 2016, ''The Sun''s eighth and ninth pages carried images of the 96 victims and an editorial which apologised "unreservedly", saying "the police smeared [supporters] with a pack of lies which in 1989 the Sun and other media swallowed whole". A lengthier apology was published online. James Murdoch made a full apology for ''The Sun'' coverage when he appeared at a hearing of the House of Commons Select committee (United Kingdom), Select committee dealing with the News International phone hacking scandal in 2012. On 12 September 2012, after the publication of the report exonerating the Liverpool fans, MacKenzie issued the following statement: In response, Trevor Hicks, chairman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, rejected MacKenzie's apology as "too little, too late", calling him "Low-life, lowlife, clever lowlife, but lowlife". A press conference held by families of the victims also banned all ''Sun'' reporters from entering, with a sign on the door reading "NO ENTRY TO SUN JOURNALISTS". Following the April 2016 verdict of unlawful killing, ''The Sun'' and the first print edition of the ''Times'' (both owned by News UK, News International), did not cover the stories on their front pages, with ''The Sun'' relegating the story to pages 8 and 9. An apology appeared on page 10, reiterating previous statements that the 1989 headline had been an error of judgement. The coverage was widely condemned on social media, with Twitter users saying that this reflected "Murdoch's view on Hillsborough", which was a "smear", which "now daren't speak its name". On the night of the verdict coverage, more than 124,000 tweets used the term ''The Sun''. However, on Sky News, ''The Sun'' Political Editor Tom Newton Dunn defended this decision, saying: "I don't think it should all be about ''The Sun''—it was not us who committed Hillsborough." Trevor Kavanagh, the political editor at the time of the Hillsborough disaster, said that he was "not sorry at all" about the reporting and supported his former boss Kelvin MacKenzie, stating that "we were clearly misled about the events and the authorities, including the police, actively concealed the truth". In February 2017, Liverpool F.C. issued a ban on ''The Sun'' journalists from entering their grounds in response to the coverage of Hillsborough by the newspaper. Everton F.C. followed in April 2017 on the eve of the 28th anniversary of the disaster after a column by Kelvin MacKenzie concerning Everton footballer Ross Barkley. MacKenzie was suspended as a contributor to the newspaper.''The Times''
The journalist Edward Pearce (journalist), Edward Pearce was criticised for writing a controversial article in the aftermath of the disaster, at a time when a number of victims' funerals were taking place. His column in ''The Sunday Times'' on 23 April 1989, included the text: Pearce went on to reflect that if South Yorkshire Police bore any responsibility, it was "for not realising what brutes they had to handle." Professor Phil Scraton described Pearce's comments as amongst the "most bigoted and factually inaccurate" published in the wake of the disaster. A number of complaints were made to the Press Council (UK), Press Council concerning the article, but the Council ruled that it was unable to adjudicate on comment pieces, though the Council noted that tragedy or disaster is not an occasion for writers to exercise gratuitous provocation. On 27 April 2016, ''The Times, Times'' staffers in the sports department expressed their outrage over the paper's decision to cover 26 April inquest, which ruled that the 96 dead were unlawfully killed, only on an inside spread and the sports pages, with some in the newspaper claiming there was a "mutiny" in the sports department. The ''Times'' later tweeted that "We made a mistake with the front page of our first edition, and we fixed it for our second edition." The ''Times'' was the only major UK newspaper not to give the story front-page coverage other than fellow News UK-owned ''Sun''. Gary Lineker described the incident as "disgusting as it is unsurprising", and David Walsh (journalist), David Walsh, chief sports writer at the ''Sunday Times'', said it was a "shocking misjudgment" to not include this story on the front page. However, insiders dismissed any suggestion that a visit by News UK owner Rupert Murdoch to the ''Times'' newsroom on the day of the verdict had anything to do with the editorial decision.''FHM''
The November 2002 edition of the men's lifestyle magazine ''FHM'' in Australia was swiftly withdrawn from sale soon after its publication, and a public apology made in the Australian and British editions, because it contained jokes mocking the disaster. As a result, Emap Australia, who owned ''FHM'' at the time, pledged to make a donation to the families of the victims. Although the original apology was not printed in the magazine as it was not considered "serious enough", its Australian editor, Geoff Campbell, released a statement: "We deeply regret the photograph captions published in the November issue of the Australian edition of ''FHM'', accompanying an article about the Hillsborough disaster of 1989. The right course of action is to withdraw this edition from sale—which we will be doing. We have been in contact with the Hillsborough Family Support Group and the Hillsborough Justice Campaign to express our deep regret and sincere apologies." The British edition disassociated itself from the controversy, stating: "''FHM'' Australia has its own editorial team and these captions were written and published without consultation with the UK edition, or any other edition of ''FHM''." The vice-chairman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, Philip Hammond, said he wanted all football fans to boycott the magazine, saying, "I am going to write to every fanzine in the country—including Liverpool F.C.'s—telling them to ban ''FHM.'' People are very upset by it. I think there will be a real boycott." He added it would be like making jokes about the 2002 Bali bombings, in which eight fewer Australians were killed. The publication was finally discontinued in 2016, for unrelated reasons.''The Spectator''
''The Spectator'' was criticised for an editorial which appeared in the magazine on 16 October 2004 following the death of British hostage Kenneth Bigley, Kenneth John "Ken" Bigley in Iraq, in which it was claimed that the response to Bigley's killing was fuelled by the fact he was from Liverpool, and went on to criticise the "drunken" fans at Hillsborough and call on them to accept responsibility for their "role" in the disaster: Although the editor Boris Johnson did not write this piece, journalist Simon Heffer said he had written the first draft of the article at Johnson's request. Johnson apologised at the time of the article, travelling to Liverpool to do so, 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: The ''Spectator'' comments were widely circulated following the April 2016 verdict by the Hillsborough inquest's second hearing proving unlawful killing of the 96 dead at Hillsborough.''EastEnders''
In November 2007, the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' caused controversy when the character Minty Peterson (played by Cliff Parisi) made a reference to the disaster. 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? Hillsborough." This prompted 380 complaints and the BBC apologised, saying that the character was simply reminding another character, former football hooligan Jase Dyer, that the actions of hooligans led to the fencing-in of football fans. Ofcom also received 177 complaints.Charles Itandje
Liverpool goalkeeper Charles Itandje was accused of having shown disrespect towards the Hillsborough victims during the 2009 remembrance ceremony, as he was spotted on camera "smiling and nudging" teammate Damien Plessis. He was suspended from the club for a fortnight and many fans felt he should not play for the club again. He was omitted from the first team squad and never played for the club in any capacity again.Jeremy Hunt
On 28 June 2010, following England's departure from the 2010 FIFA World Cup competition in South Africa, the UK's Culture and Sport Secretary Jeremy Hunt praised the England fans for their behaviour during the competition, saying "I mean, not a single arrest for a football-related offence, and the terrible problems that we had in Heysel and Hillsborough in the 1980s seem now to be behind us." He later apologised and said "I know that fan unrest played no part in the terrible events of April 1989 and I apologise to Liverpool fans and the families of those killed and injured in the Hillsborough disaster if my comments caused any offence." Margaret Aspinall, chairperson of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, asked for a face to face meeting with Hunt before deciding if she would accept the apology.Fans' chants
Fans of rival clubs have been known to chant about the Hillsborough disaster at football matches, in order to upset Liverpool fans. Following the findings of the Independent Panel in September 2012, Alex Ferguson and two Manchester United fan groups called for an end to the "sick chants". Leeds United chairman Ken Bates endorsed this call in the club programme and stated, "Leeds have suffered at times 2000 UEFA Cup semi-final violence, with reference to Galatasaray; some of our so-called fans have also been guilty as well, particularly in relation to Munich air disaster, Munich." "Munich" is a reference to the deaths of eight Manchester United players in the Munich air disaster of 1958.Oliver Popplewell
In October 2011, Oliver Popplewell, Sir Oliver Popplewell, who chaired the public inquiry into the 1985 Bradford City stadium fire at Valley Parade that killed 56 people, called on the families of the Hillsborough victims to look at the "quiet dignity and great courage relatives in the West Yorkshire city had shown in the years following the tragedy". He said: "The citizens of Bradford behaved with quiet dignity and great courage. They did not harbour conspiracy theories. They did not seek endless further inquiries. They buried their dead, comforted the bereaved and succoured the injured. They organised a sensible compensation scheme and moved on. Is there, perhaps, a lesson there for the Hillsborough campaigners?" Popplewell was criticised for the comments, including a rebuke from a survivor of the Bradford fire. Labour MP Steve Rotheram, commented: "How insensitive does somebody have to be to write that load of drivel?"David Crompton
In 2013, a formal complaint was made against David Crompton, South Yorkshire's chief constable, over internal emails relating to the Hillsborough disaster. On 8 September 2012, just four days before the Hillsborough Independent Panel Report was published, Crompton had emailed the force's assistant chief constable Andy Holt and head of media Mark Thompson. In the email, which came to light as the result of a Freedom of Information Act 2000, Freedom of Information request, Crompton had said that the families' "version of certain events has become 'the truth' even though it isn't". South Yorkshire's police and crime commissioner Shaun Wright appointed chief constable Simon Parr of Cambridgeshire Constabulary to head an investigation into the matter. 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." In March 2016, Crompton announced that he would retire in November. On 26 April 2016, after the inquest jury delivered a verdict affirming all the charges against the police, Crompton "unequivocally accepted" the verdicts, including unlawful killing, said that the police operation at the stadium on the day of the disaster had been "catastrophically wrong", and apologised unreservedly. Following continued criticism of Crompton in the wake of the unlawful killing verdict, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Billings suspended Crompton from duty on 27 April 2016.Civil servant
In June 2014, an unnamed 24-year-old British civil servant was sacked for posting offensive comments about the disaster on Wikipedia.Steven Cohen
In 2009, nearly twenty years to the day after the disaster, Steven Cohen, a presenter on Fox Soccer Channel and Sirius satellite radio in the United States (an Englishman and Chelsea FC, Chelsea fan), stated on his radio show that Liverpool fans "without tickets" were the "root cause" and "perpetrators" of the disaster. A boycott of advertisers by American Liverpool fans eventually brought about an apology from him. Despite this he was replaced as presenter of Fox Football Fone-in. His actions were disowned by Chelsea F.C., Chelsea Football Club and he no longer works as a broadcaster.Bernard Ingham
In 1996, Bernard Ingham, Sir Bernard Ingham, former press secretary to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, caused controversy with his comments about the disaster. In a letter addressed to a victim's parent, Ingham wrote that the disaster was caused by "tanked up yobs". In another letter written to a Liverpool supporter, also written in 1996, Ingham remarked that people should "shut up about Hillsborough". On the day of the inquest verdict, Ingham refused to apologise or respond to the previous comments he made, telling a reporter, "I have nothing to say." There have since been calls to have Ingham stripped of his knighthood.Topman
In March 2018, British clothing retailer Topman marketed a T-shirt which was interpreted by members of the public, including relatives of Hillsborough victims, as mocking the disaster. The T-shirt was red with white details like a Liverpool shirt, and had the number 96 on the back like a football shirt, with the text "Karma" and "What goes around comes back around", and a white rose, as associated with Yorkshire. Topman stated that the T-shirt was in reference to a Bob Marley Bob Marley and the Wailers discography#1990s, song re-released in 1996 and apologised and withdrew the item.Radio, television and theatre
1989: ''After Dark'' (TV discussion programme)
On 20 May 1989, five weeks after the disaster, Channel 4's ''After Dark (TV programme), After Dark'' programme broadcast an extended live discussion called After Dark (TV programme)#Hillsborough and "Football – The Final Whistle?", "Football – The Final Whistle?". Among the guests were bereaved father James Delaney and his wife Eileen, who said "they didn’t give the poor people who were killed any dignity . . . I bent down to kiss and talk to [my son] and as we stood up there was a policeman who came from behind me . . . trying to usher myself and my husband out . . . I had to scream at the police officer to allow us privacy . . . the total attitude was, you’ve identified number 33 so go!" Further extracts from what Eileen Delaney said can be found on the Hillsborough Justice Campaign website and in Phil Scraton's book ''Hillsborough: The Truth''.1996: ''Hillsborough'' (TV drama)
A television drama, based on the disaster and subsequent events, titled simply ''Hillsborough'', was produced by Granada Television in 1996. It won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, BAFTA Award for Best Single Drama in 1997. The cast included Christopher Eccleston, Annabelle Apsion, Ricky Tomlinson and Mark Womack (British actor), Mark Womack. 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 1 May 2016 on ITV (TV network), ITV.2009: ''The Reunion'' (Radio discussion programme)
On the 20th anniversary of the disaster, BBC Radio 4 produced an episode of their series ''The Reunion'' on the subject of Hillsborough. Sue MacGregor brought together a group of people who were involved in the disaster to talk about the events of that day at a time when they were still in the midst of their fight for justice. The programme was repeated on 1 May 2016, at the end of the week in which the Hillsborough inquest ruled that the 96 Liverpool football fans died unlawfully.2014: ''Hillsborough'' (TV documentary)
The American sports network ESPN produced the documentary ''Hillsborough'' as part of its ''30 for 30'' series of sports films (under a new "Soccer Stories" subdivision). Directed by Daniel Gordon (film director), Daniel Gordon and co-produced with the BBC, the two-hour film chronicles the disaster, the investigations, and their lingering effects; it also includes interviews with survivors, victims' relatives, police officers and investigators. ''Hillsborough'' first aired in the US on 15 April 2014, the 25th anniversary of the disaster. 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. After the inquest verdict, the BBC aired the documentary on 8 May 2016, with additional footage from the inquest, as well as its final verdict.2022: ''Anne'' (TV drama)
''Anne (British TV series), Anne'' is a four-part docudrama about Anne Williams (activist), Anne Williams' campaign to reveal the truth about her son's death, which aired on ITV (TV network), ITV in January 2022. Williams was portrayed by Maxine Peake, whose performance was described in ''The Guardian'' as "almost unwatchably intense".Stage plays
Two British stage plays also dealt with the disaster with different view points: * Jonathan Harvey (playwright), Jonathan Harvey's ''Guiding Star'' showed a father coming to terms with what had happened some years later. * Lance Nielsen wrote ''Waiting For Hillsborough'' about two Liverpool families waiting for news of their missing loved ones on the day, which leads to discussion of football safety and the culture of blame. Nielsen's play won him an award at the 1999 Liverpool Arts and Entertainment awards and was highly praised by the Liverpool press.Notes
See also
* List of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland by death toll * Kanjuruhan Stadium disaster – a 2022 disaster in Indonesia involving tear gas being used against supportersReferences
Further reading
* * * * * * * Scrutiny of Evidence Relating to the Hillsborough Football Stadium Disaster (Command Paper); Home Office; * Sports Stadia After Hillsborough: Seminar Papers; RIBA, Sports Council, Owen Luder (Ed.); * * * * * * * * *External links