hillsborough disaster turnstiles
[313] In another letter written to a Liverpool supporter, also written in 1996, Ingham remarked that people should "shut up about Hillsborough". This memorial is inscribed with the words: "Hillsborough Disaster we will remember them", and displays the names of the 96 victims who died. It won the BAFTA Award for Best Single Drama in 1997. 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. Hon. [4] In 2009 a Hillsborough Independent Panel was formed to review the evidence. 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. [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. The panel was chaired by James Jones, the Bishop of Liverpool. [170] In early October, Bettison announced his retirement, becoming the first senior figure to step down since publication of the panel's report.[171][172][173]. This followed a legal challenge in the High Court by his family to have his treatment withdrawn, a landmark challenge which succeeded in November 1992. Documents disclosed confirm that repeated attempts were made to find supporting evidence for alcohol being a factor, and that available evidence was significantly misinterpreted. 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. Other messages came from Pope John Paul II, US President George H. W. Bush, and the chief executive of Juventus (fans of Liverpool and Juventus had been involved in the Heysel Stadium disaster) amongst many others. [284], The November 2002 edition of the men's lifestyle magazine FHM in Australia was swiftly withdrawn from sale soon after its publication, and a public apology made in the Australian and British editions, because it contained jokes mocking the disaster. Other fans were pulled to safety by fans in the West Stand above the Leppings Lane terrace. Possibly connected to the excitement, a surge in pen 3 caused one of its metal crush barriers to give way. "[255], In their history of The Sun, Peter Chippendale and Chris Horrie wrote:[256]. The clock at the Kop End stood still at 3:06pm, 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. The Liverpool Echo condemned the apology as "cynical and shameless". [155], Echoing his 2012 expression of regret[158] former Home Secretary Jack Straw apologised to the families for the failures of his 1997 review of the disaster. After the two minutes' silence, bells on civic buildings rang out throughout Merseyside. The Memorial bench remains at Spion Kop Lodge. THE HILLSBOROUGH STADIUM DISASTER 15 APRIL 1989 INQUIRY BY THE RT HON LORD JUSTICE TAYLOR INTERIM REPORT Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for the Home Department by Command of Her Majesty August 1989 LONDON HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE CONTENTS This work is licensed under the United Kingdom Open Government Licence v1.0 . [100], 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,[101] but actually an estimated 3,000 people were in the pens around 3:00pm. Hon. [290] Although the original apology was not printed in the magazine as it was not considered "serious enough",[291] 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. He said of the Bradford families: "They did not harbour conspiracy theories. [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. [284][286] Gary Lineker described the incident as "disgusting as it is unsurprising",[287] and David Walsh, chief sports writer at the Sunday Times, said it was a "shocking misjudgment" to not include this story on the front page. [43] Football players from both teams were ushered to their respective dressing rooms, and told that there would be a 30-minute postponement. [5][6], The first coroner's inquests into the Hillsborough disaster, completed in 1991, concluded with verdicts of accidental death in respect of all the deceased. [94], Lord Taylor concluded that the behaviour of Liverpool fans, including accusations of drunkenness, were secondary factors, and said that most fans were: "not drunk, nor even the worse for drink". [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]. [320], In 1994 Roger Cook led an investigation into the Hillsborough disaster in a series 9 edition of The Cook Report entitled "Kevin's Mum". Hooliganism had affected the sport for some years and was particularly virulent in England. It obviously wasn't a silly mistake; nor was it a simple oversight. [288] 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. In memory of 96 people, that have lost their lives.song: ''Denez Prigdent & Lisa Gerrard - Gortoz A Ran'' "[114] This was controversial as the subsequent response of the police and emergency services would not be scrutinised. Hillsborough disaster, incident in which a crush of football (soccer) fans ultimately resulted in 97 deaths and hundreds of injuries. [36] Many supporters wished to enjoy the day and were in no hurry to enter the stadium too early. Now they are customers to be wooed and cosseted", "Deaths and Injuries at Major Accidents at British Football Stadiums", "Hillsborough families call for Sheffield Wednesday manslaughter inquiry", "How Bradford fire neglect left Hillsborough doomed to disaster", "Safety failings that contributed to death of 96 Liverpool fans were foreseeable", "Sheffield licensing officer from time of Hillsborough disaster still works for council", "Sky Blues fans recall Hillsborough choas", "Hillsborough warning signs were there in 1987", "David Bernstein makes unreserved apology for Hillsborough disaster", "Witness statement of Chief Superintendent Brian Mole, South Yorkshire Police", "Hillsborough inquest hears of police commander's transfer before match", "Hillsborough police officer in command 'had little training' for 1989 FA Cup", "4 Death on the Terraces: The Contexts and Injustices of the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster", "BBC Panorama 2013: Hillsborough Disaster. It was also reported that the jury would be directed to find Mackrell not guilty on the charge of contravening the stadium's safety certificate due to a lack of evidence. [107] Chester City F.C. Blaming Liverpool fans persisted even after the Taylor Report of 1990, which found that the main cause was a failure of crowd control by SYP. They both gave evidence at the 2016 Warrington inquests. [80] Andrew Devine, who was 22 at the time of the disaster, died in 2021 at the age of 55. The error staring them in the face was too glaring. Lord Justice Taylor, Interim Report (Cm 765), The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster, 15 April 1989: Inquiry by the Rt. [322], 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). Duckenfield took medical retirement on a full police pension. [227], Other services took place at the same time, including at the Anglican Liverpool Cathedral and the Roman Catholic Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. [272], 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". [85], In February 2000, a private prosecution was brought against Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield and another officer, Bernard Murray. [266] 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". [263] Chris Horrie estimated in 2014 that the tabloid's owners had lost 15million per month since the disaster, in 1989 prices. 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'. Wednesday 6 April 2016, 4:11pm. [46]:137,138 As this declaration was not immediately performed, confusion reigned over those attempting to administer aid on the pitch. Popper said this was because the victims were either dead, or brain dead, by 3:15pm. They have no shame", "I live in a part of England that receives first edition of The Times. Topman stated that the T-shirt was in reference to a Bob Marley song re-released in 1996 and apologised and withdrew the item. [66][67], By the disaster's 10th anniversary in 1999, at least three people who survived were known to have taken their own lives. Share. I held those views then, I hold them now. He said that he 'could not fathom why he didn't call us, other than he specifically did not want to hear our evidence, in which case the first inquests were coloured and flawed before they even started'. [261] The Hillsborough Justice Campaign organised a less successful national boycott that had some impact on the paper's sales nationally. I have come to the clear conclusion that there is no basis upon which there should be a further Judicial Inquiry or a reopening of Lord Taylor's Inquiry. 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. On 12 September 2012, the Hillsborough Independent Panel concluded that no Liverpool fans were responsible in any way for the disaster,[122] and that its main cause was a "lack of police control". The entrance is formed of only seven turnstiles, at the top of a bottleneck-shaped road. [96], 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). calling for his resignation, but he apologised on discovering hooliganism was not the cause. [94] 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. A Leeds fan described disorganisation at the turnstiles and no steward or police direction inside the stadium, resulting in the crowd in one enclosure becoming so compressed he was at times unable to raise and clap his hands. [246] These media reports and others were examined during the 2012 Hillsborough Independent Panel report. [253] In fact many Liverpool fans helped security personnel stretcher away victims and gave first aid to the injured. She unsuccessfully appealed to the European Court of Human Rights in 2009. It's too little, too late. [77] Jon-Paul Gilhooley, aged 10, was the youngest person to die. [53] The Liverpool F.C. MacKenzie was suspended as a contributor to the newspaper. It affirmed the position of the courts once again towards claims of psychiatric injuries of secondary victims. A crush occurred at the Leppings-Lane end of the ground during the 1981 semi-final between Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers after hundreds more spectators were permitted to enter the terrace than could safely be accommodated, resulting in 38 injuries, including broken arms, legs and ribs. "[290], 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 countryincluding Liverpool F.C. [267], James Murdoch made a full apology for The Sun's coverage when he appeared at a hearing of the House of Commons Select committee dealing with the News International phone hacking scandal in 2012. [52] In the following days more than 200,000 people visited the "shrine" inside the stadium. The inquests hearings started on Monday 31 March 2014 at Warrington. Flames were added either side of the Liverpool F.C. [268], On 12 September 2012, after the publication of the report exonerating the Liverpool fans, MacKenzie issued the following statement:[269]. Had it been reversed, the disaster could well have occurred in a similar manner but to Nottingham supporters". 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? [154], 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. We have been in contact with the Hillsborough Family Support Group and the Hillsborough Justice Campaign to express our deep regret and sincere apologies. After an initial rush, thousands of supporters entered the stadium "steadily at a fast walk". 'Why us? People presenting tickets at the wrong turnstiles and those who had been refused entry could not leave because of the crowd behind them and remained as an obstruction. This Harrowing report, describes how a beautiful spring day turned into a day of tragedy and disaster. [302], In October 2011, Sir Oliver Popplewell, who had 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". The request to delay the start of the match by 20 minutes was declined. Hillsborough first aired in the US on 15April 2014, the 25th anniversary of the disaster. Families believed that Popper was 'too close' to the police. [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". There was insufficient evidence against the police officer to charge him with the offence. The name, originally that of a hill in South Africa, usually refers to an unusually steep stand. MacKenzie maintained for years that his "only mistake was to believe a Tory MP". [24][25] The incident nonetheless prompted Sheffield Wednesday to alter the layout at the Leppings Lane end, dividing the terrace into three separate pens to restrict sideways movement. 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. Up to 10,000 Liverpool supporters have tickets to the standing terraces on their side of the pitch.. 's Deva Stadium was the first English football stadium to fulfil the safety recommendations of the Taylor Report, with Millwall F.C. It was brought by police officers on duty against the chief constable who was said to have been vicariously liable for the disaster. It was performed by Lord Justice Stuart-Smith. Lewis stopped the match at 3:05:30[44] as fans climbed the fence in an effort to escape the crush and went onto the track. Mackenzie reportedly spent two hours deciding on which headline to run; his original instinct being for "You Scum" before eventually deciding on "The Truth". A 20 minute video of the disaster in Windows Media Player format. [43] Chief Superintendent John Nesbit of South Yorkshire Police later briefed Michael Shersby MP that leaving the rescue to the fans was a deliberate strategy, and is quoted as saying "We let the fans help so that they would not take out their frustration on the police" at a Police Federation conference. [132] 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. "[304], In 2013, a formal complaint was made against David Crompton, South Yorkshire's chief constable, over internal emails relating to the Hillsborough disaster. I published in good faith and I am sorry that it was so wrong". A police officer ordinarily made a visual assessment before guiding fans to other pens. "[87], Popper had excluded the witness evidence of two qualified Merseyside doctors (Drs Ashton and Phillips) who had been inside the stadium on the day and who had been critical of the chaotic emergency response. Four officers resigned and seven were disciplined over the incident. [279], The 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. These were formally given to the inquests at 11:00 on 26 April 2016. [321], On the 20th anniversary of the disaster, BBC Radio 4 produced an episode of their series The Reunion on the subject of Hillsborough. No formal pleas were taken from the other four defendants. [314][315] 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. 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). [241] The Sheffield Star published similar allegations to The Sun, running the headline "Fans in Drunken Attacks on Police". The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, at the time of the report, 95 Liverpool F.C. [14] In June 2017, six people were charged with offences including manslaughter by gross negligence, misconduct in public office and perverting the course of justice for their actions during and after the disaster.
