[26] This 1981 change and other later changes to the stadium invalidated the stadium's safety certificate. [243], On 19 April, four days after the disaster, Kelvin MacKenzie, editor of 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 PC giving kiss of life". After a 27-year campaign by victims' families, the behaviour of Liverpool fans was exonerated. [57], UEFA President Jacques Georges caused controversy by describing the Liverpool supporters as "beasts",[58] wrongly suggesting that hooliganism was the cause of the disaster, which had occurred less than four years after the Heysel Stadium disaster. ", "Did Freemasons influence police over Hillsborough? [159], 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". Gerrard has said the disaster inspired him to lead the team he supported as a boy and become a top professional football player. Meanwhile, on the pitch, police, stewards and members of the St John Ambulance service were overwhelmed. 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. [37] At 2:46pm, the BBC's football commentator John Motson had already noticed the uneven distribution of people in the Leppings Lane pens. [77] Jon-Paul Gilhooley, aged 10, was the youngest person to die. Such an unrealistic approach gives cause for anxiety as to whether lessons have been learnt".[105]. As the prime minister has made clear, these allegations were wholly untrue and were part of a concerted plot by police officers to discredit the supporters thereby shifting the blame for the tragedy from themselves. [294] Johnson apologised at the time of the article, travelling to Liverpool to do so,[295] and again following the publication of the report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel in 2012; Johnson's apology was rejected by Margaret Aspinall, chairperson of the Hillsborough Families Support Group, whose son James, 18, died in the disaster:[296]. 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. 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. Duckenfield took medical retirement on a full police pension. [184][185][186], Home Secretary Theresa May announced on 18December 2012 that a new police inquiry would be initiated to examine the possibility of charging agencies other than the police over the Hillsborough deaths. Hon. After the last verdict was read out, I decided to jot down a few thoughts. 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. [270] 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". 's captain. Liverpool's goalkeeper, Bruce Grobbelaar, reported fans from behind him pleading to him for help as the situation worsened. [4][8] Reporting in 2012, it confirmed Taylor's 1990 criticisms and revealed details about the extent of police efforts to shift blame onto fans, the role of other emergency services and the error of the first coroner's inquests. In 2009, on the 20th anniversary of the disaster, Liverpool's request that their Champions League quarter-finals return leg, scheduled for 15 April, be played the day before was granted. [228], A song was released to mark the 20th anniversary, entitled "Fields of Anfield Road" which peaked at No. Kick-off was scheduled for 3:00pm on 15 April, and fans were advised to take up positions 15 minutes beforehand. Lord Justice Taylor, Final Report (Cm 962), Hillsborough: The Report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel, Liverpool Football Club Hillsborough Memorial. [326], Anne is a four-part docudrama about Anne Williams' campaign to reveal the truth about her son's death, which aired on ITV in January 2022. [3] The match was abandoned and restaged at Old Trafford in Manchester on 7 May 1989; Liverpool won and went on to win that season's FA Cup. South Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service, Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police, White v Chief Constable of the South Yorkshire Police, Champions League quarter-finals return leg, Coverage of the Hillsborough disaster by The Sun, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, List of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland by death toll, "Five Hillsborough myths dispelled by inquests jury", "1989: Football fans crushed at Hillsborough", "Liverpool fan's death ruled as 97th of Hillsborough disaster", "Hillsborough Disaster: From tragedy to truth", "The legacy of Hillsborough how football has changed", "Out of the ashes of Hillsborough, modern football was born", "High court quashes Hillsborough inquest verdicts", "Not 'justice' but full truth may finally be possible for Hillsborough victims", "Hillsborough papers: Cameron apology over 'double injustice', "Hillsborough disaster: David Cameron apologises for 'double injustice', "Hillsborough inquests jury rules 96 victims were unlawfully killed", "South Yorkshire police chief suspended after Hillsborough verdict", "The great betrayal: how the Hillsborough families were failed by the justice system", "Five Hillsborough Myths Dispelled by Inquests Jury", "Before Hillsborough fans were seen as terrace fodder. [9][10][11] The panel's report resulted in the previous findings of accidental death being quashed, and the creation of new coroner's inquests. [198] On 3April, the jury returned with a guilty verdict against Mackrell on a health and safety charge but was unable to reach a verdict on Duckenfield. [261] The Hillsborough Justice Campaign organised a less successful national boycott that had some impact on the paper's sales nationally. Margaret Aspinall, chairperson of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, asked for a face to face meeting with Hunt before deciding if she would[needs update] accept the apology. Some supporters were delayed by roadworks while crossing the Pennines on the M62 motorway which resulted in minor traffic congestion. [242][243], In other regional newspapers, the Manchester Evening News wrote that the "Anfield Army charged on to the terrace behind the goalmany 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". [51], Condolences flooded in from across the world, led by the Queen. [282][pageneeded] A number of complaints were made to the 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. The deaths of more than 50 Liverpool football supporters at Hillsborough in 1989 was undeniably a greater tragedy than the single death, however horrible, of Mr Bigley; but that is no excuse for Liverpool's failure to acknowledge, even to this day, the part played in the disaster by drunken fans at the back of the crowd who mindlessly tried to fight their way into the ground that Saturday afternoon. issued a ban on The Sun journalists from entering their grounds in response to the coverage of Hillsborough by the newspaper. Liverpool players Ronnie Whelan, Steve Nicol, and former manager Joe Fagan carried the communion bread and wine. That's why I am so grateful to my city and so proud of my city. Today I offer my profuse apologies to the people of Liverpool for that headline. The Taylor Inquiry sat for a total of 31 days (between 15May and 29June 1989)[92] and published two reports: an interim report (1August 1989) which laid out the events of the day and immediate conclusions; and a final report (19January 1990) which outlined general recommendations on football ground safety. [4] Private prosecutions brought by the Hillsborough Families Support Group against Duckenfield and his deputy Bernard Murray failed in 2000. Among the guests were bereaved father James Delaney and his wife Eileen, who said "they didnt give the poor people who were killed any dignity . "[220] A gospel choir performed and the ceremony ended with a rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone". [257] In 1993, he told a House of Commons committee, "I regret Hillsborough. Other fans were pulled to safety by fans in the West Stand above the Leppings Lane terrace. [4] In 2009 a Hillsborough Independent Panel was formed to review the evidence. [156][157] 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. A teenager who died in the Hillsborough disaster tried in vain to save her younger sister as the . On 26April 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. [45], The agreed upon protocol for the South Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service (SYMAS) was that ambulances were to queue at the entrance to the gymnasium, termed the casualty reception point, or CRP. The Football Spectators Act does not cover Scotland, but the Scottish Premier League chose to make all-seater stadiums a requirement of league membership. It won the BAFTA Award for Best Single Drama in 1997. Solicitor Peter Metcalf, former Chief Superintendent Donald Denton, and former Detective Chief Inspector Alan Foster were all charged with perverting the course of justice,[189][190] for having altered 68 police officers' statements in order to "mask the failings" of the police force. Candles were lit for each of the 96 people who died. The Hillsborough inquest jury must answer a detailed questionnaire before delivering their verdicts. Ninety-six people died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster There were not enough turnstiles for fans entering the terraces on the day of the Hillsborough disaster, a stadium safety expert. [316], 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. [163] 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,[164] advising the jury to cast aside "gossip and hearsay". Hillsborough." The system of ferrying injured from any location within the stadium to the CRP required a formal declaration to be made by those in charge for it to take effect. The first reading was read by Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar. All five were bailed to appear at the Crown Court in September. Hooliganism had affected the sport for some years and was particularly virulent in England. "[304], In 2013, a formal complaint was made against David Crompton, South Yorkshire's chief constable, over internal emails relating to the Hillsborough disaster.