There were some police officers whose decency stood out. This act sets out how the police complaints system operates. The following timeline shows the key dates following the disaster and prior to our involvement. Hopkins agreed that mistakes were made in planning for the 1989 semi-final that played a part in the disaster but were not to do with Duckenfield. They were sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, husbands, one wife Christine Jones, 27 and partners. Just 19 days before the semi-final, he abruptly moved his seasoned, expert, popular commander at Sheffield Wednesdays Hillsborough stadium, Ch Supt Brian Mole. Marsh also made an apology, saying: Policing has profoundly failed those bereaved by the Hillsborough disaster over many years and we are sorry that the service got it so wrong. Hillsborough disaster, incident in which a crush of football (soccer) fans ultimately resulted in 97 deaths and hundreds of injuries. The jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing for the then 96 Liverpool fans who lost their lives and concluded that the fans played no role in causing the disaster. Mr Raab said "we must learn the lessons" of the Hillsborough disaster, adding: "The independent public advocate goes some way to making . Martin Hewitt, the chair of the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), made the apology at the launch of a report setting out senior police officers commitments to learn lessons from the Hillsborough failures. McKay said it was because memories came back in patches. Two police forces are to pay damages to more than 600 people over a cover-up which followed the Hillsborough disaster. A lifelong Liverpool FC fan, Mr Devine was 22 at the time of the disaster. An investigation may only be discontinued if it meets one or more of the grounds for discontinuance set out in law. Challenged that he failed to deal with the situation, Marshall said: Well not really, because I was active in the middle of the crowd waving my arms about., Asked if he should have called for a delay to the 3pm kickoff, to relieve the pressure of people anxious to be in for the start, Marshall said: That is one of the most profound regrets that I did not do so.. Lord Justice Taylor concluded that, faced with a situation which was becoming dangerous, "crowd safety should have been Mr Duckenfield's paramount consideration". No police officer was ever disciplined or held accountable, and there was no reform. The overwhelming evidence, shown in BBC colour footage of the horrific scene, contrary to the lurid, defamatory tales spun afterwards by the police, was of Liverpool supporters heroically helping. In 2012, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), then the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), launched an independent investigation into police actions following the Hillsborough disaster. As Gate C was opened, most of the 2,000 fans headed straight down a tunnel towards the full central pens, creating the fatal crush. They were fans. The appropriate authority may be the chief officer of the police force or the PCC for the force. As match commander, Ch Supt David Duckenfield had it in his powers to delay the kick-off in the interests of crowd safety. I could not have done more. Metcalf denied it, saying he was advising on statements being in suitable form for Taylor. 14 questions the Hillsborough jury answered, Hillsborough inquests: What you need to know, City centre chippy people travel from as far as South Korea to visit, Wellens praises Steve Prescott's legacy ahead of tomorrow's St Helens 10k, Lost 90s nightclub with 95p drinks that replaced iconic Fallows, Neville Jones Schools Cross Country League third round pictures, Son pays tribute to mum who dedicated 67 years of her life to Neston Female Society, Police presence in Sankey Bridges after man suffers medical episode, Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. Hillsborough disaster: Police apologise for 'profoundly failing' families of victims Police forces promise 'cultural change' as they respond to critical report into the disaster almost 34. . Some 2,000 Liverpool supporters were still outside and Ch Supt Duckenfield gave the fateful order to "open the gates", letting fans into the ground. It admitted no fault whatsoever. SYMAS had supplied body bags to transport the bodies to Sheffields medico-legal centre, a state-of-the-art mortuary designed for sensitive treatment of relatives. There are three types of investigations: local, directed and independent. They included a heartbreakingly large number of young people 37 were teenagers because to watch an FA Cup semi-final then cost only 6. Jackson and Anderson still stood by their belief that Duckenfield could handle the semi-final, given experienced officers and the operational plan in place from the previous year when, under Moles command, an identical match between the same two clubs was played at Hillsborough. Critically, it agreed that Liverpool fans had in no way contributed to the disaster. He said any delay was a decision for the match commander. Fans should have a greater say over the 2024 Champions League final at Wembley to avoid a repeat of the Paris chaos, according to MPs. Inside the ground, "there was no means of counting" the number of fans entering individual pens. The Hillsborough Independent Panel reported in 2012 that 164 statements had been altered. Deborah Coles, the executive director of Inquest, which works with families of people who have died in circumstances of police or state involvement, said: The continuing failure of the government to respond to the bishops report is an insult to bereaved and survivors who want to see no one else suffer a similar injustice. Duckenfield admitted he had not familiarised himself in any detail with the grounds layout or capacities of its different sections. He had not foreseen that people would naturally go down the tunnel to the central pens right in front of them. Responsible for an English county at the jeans-and-trainers end of the 1980s, the force had brutally policed the miners strike, and was described by some of its own former officers as regimented, with morning parade and saluting of officers, ruled by an iron fist institutionally unable to admit mistakes. He imagined he would be a bully, and look for scapegoats. The year and a day rule was abolished by legislation in 1996, but David Duckenfield was being prosecuted under the law as it applied at the time of the disaster. As the teams ran on to the pitch for the 15.00 kick-off, the HIP report said "the crowd cheered but already in the central pens people were screaming. In Moles place, Wright promoted Duckenfield, who had never commanded a match at Hillsborough before, nor even been on duty there for 10 years. In October 2012, one month after the HIP released its findings, we launched an independent investigation into police actions in the aftermath of the disaster. In the Commons, the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, welcomed the police response but said the governments failure to respond showed a lack of respect to the families. Most wrote on plain paper, the majority including descriptions of supporters drinking and misbehaving. Duckenfield had arrived at the converted courtroom in Warrington with traces of his former authority, but over seven airless, agonisingly tense days in the witness box last March, he was steadily worn down, surrendering slowly into a crumpled heap. [3] The confrontation between riot police and miners at Orgreave in 1984. The disaster at Sheffield Wednesday's stadium was investigated by West Midlands Police. IOPC guidance to the police service and police authorities on the handling of complaints. Mark George QC, for 22 bereaved families, accused him of digging for dirt to establish evidence of drinking by supporters outside. Following two years of harrowing evidence, the verdicts in the inquest into the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 are a complete vindication of the 27-year campaign for justice for the 96 victims and . Yet when they went to Taylor, the police did make that case, insisting they bore no responsibility and claiming as the cause supporters arriving late, drunk and unmanageable. . That night, Amy asked if her dad could wake them up when he came home. An image released by the Hillsborough inquest. Acting Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police Lauren Poultney has offered "an unreserved apology to those affected by the Hillsborough disaster and its aftermath" and acknowledged "serious. The tragedy was largely attributed to mistakes made by the police. Hillsborough police statements 'altered to minimise blame and mask bosses' mistakes' Two retired South Yorkshire Police officers and a former force lawyer are on trial charged with perverting. The 97th victim, Andrew Devine, died on 27 July 2021, after a long illness of 32 years from aspiration pneumonia, and the Coroner ruled he died as a result of his injuries sustained at Hillsborough. Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter'. Photograph: Ross Kinnaird/Empics Sport, Hillsborough disaster: deadly mistakes and lies that lasted decades. Bettison included descriptions of supporters as animals and savages. Margaret Thatcher's former chief press secretary Sir Bernard Ingham once again refused to apologise for blaming Liverpool FC fans for the Hillsborough disaster.. Don Page, head of SYMAS at the time who accepted the ambulance response was inadequate told an extraordinary story about Wrights insistence on alleging supporters were drunk. The jury heard he had at least three minutes to "consider the consequences" of opening the gates. Department within a police force that deals with complaints and conduct matters. According to the law in 1989, no criminal charge relating to a death could be brought if the victim died longer than a year and a day after the acts alleged to have caused it. Operation Resolve (link is external)was a taskforce made up of police investigators that looked at the actions of all those organisations involved in the disaster. The 10,100 fans with standing tickets were expected to enter the ground through just seven turnstiles and by 14.30, fewer than half were inside. He accepted he "failed to properly assess the situation" and "failed to declare a major emergency at the earliest opportunity". The Hillsborough disaster of April 15 1989 led to the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans. Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died at Hillsborough, told the BBC: We are now in 2023. Dr Jasmeet Soar, a resuscitation specialist, said "earlier intervention before cardiac arrest" could have saved the life of James Aspinall, son of Hillsborough campaigner Margaret Aspinall. At these inquests, he admitted he had given no thought to where the people would go if he opened the gate. Norman Bettison, then an inspector at South Yorkshire police later, to the families fury, chief constable of Merseyside wrote most of section V, the forces account of what happened. Labour committed at its conference in Liverpool last September to introduce the Hillsborough law reforms if it wins the next election. The inquest jury blamed police failures before and on the day of the tragedy. Will you accept that, in fact, you froze?. Donald Denton, 83, detective chief inspector Alan Foster, 74, and Peter . He said he had talked to Det Supt Graham McKay on the way to the gymnasium, and from McKay, Addis said, I got most of the gist of what happened. It is also encouraging that they are so supportive of a duty of candour and legal representation for families bereaved after a public tragedy.. With only four ambulances making it on to the pitch, 82 bodies were taken by supporters and police officers to the gymnasium, using advertising hoardings and even a stepladder as makeshift stretchers. Then there was the unspeakably heartless identification process in the football club gymnasium, after which CID officers immediately grilled families about how much they and their dead loved ones had had to drink. However no police officer has been disciplined or convicted of any offence relating to the disaster or the years of false evidence; Duckenfield was charged with gross negligence manslaughter and acquitted in 2019. The South Yorkshire police officers were ordered, contrary to all regular practice, to record their Hillsborough experiences not in their official pocketbooks but on plain paper. This means doing what is appropriate in the circumstances, taking into account the facts and the context in which the complaint has been raised, within the framework of legislation and guidance. The former Sheffield Wednesday Football Club secretary, Graham Mackrell, was found guilty of an offence contrary to the Health and Safety at Work Act. At the end of his evidence, Greaves asked if he could say a few words. Some officers did write in their pocketbooks. But the kick-off had been delayed two years previously; the 1987 semi-final was postponed for a quarter of an hour because of late arrivals. Survivors recalled their own helpless entrapment, the agonising suffocation, the eye-popping panic, the terrible screams for help, the delayed reaction of South Yorkshire police officers on the other side of the metal perimeter fence. The area outside the Leppings Lane turnstiles was described as a "death trap, the number of turnstiles for the Leppings Lane terrace had proved "satisfactory", there was no means of counting" the number of fans entering individual pens, his failure to close the tunnel "was the direct cause of the deaths of 96 people", "froze" because of the pressure he was under. The dominance of Wright, a decorated career police officer who died in 2011, loomed over the catastrophe. Derided and denigrated as animalistic, they were ultimately driven on by the power of human love and loyalty, and the bonds of family. An intelligence-led agency with law enforcement powers, it is also responsible for reducing the harm that is caused to people and communities by serious organised crime. Only two ambulances reached the Leppings Lane end of the pitch and of the 96 people who died, only 14 were ever admitted to hospital. Conduct includes acts, omissions, statements and decisions (whether actual, alleged or inferred). Following a re-trial in 2019, he was found not guilty of 95 counts of gross negligence manslaughter. The makeshift courtroom, assembled within the ground floor of a plate glass office block on a Warrington business park, often felt blankly incongruous for stories of such human extremes. The inquests verdict, when it finally arrived, represented the most thorough vindication imaginable for the families of the dead and an equally damning indictment of South Yorkshire Police. Hundreds more fans were injured and countless people who survived have been left traumatised by the disaster. Mr Duckenfield agreed his failure to close the tunnel "was the direct cause of the deaths of 96 people". Addis set up the gymnasium, he revealed, not just as a place of identification, but as the CID incident room the centre for his investigation to try to identify the cause of the incident. Greaves recalled that he closed Sarahs eyes. The control room at Hillsborough in 1989. Jones himself criticised the governments delay as intolerable and welcomed the police response: The NPCC report now shifts the focus and puts the pressure on the government, especially the home and justice secretaries, Jones said. Read about our approach to external linking. Leads and manages the development of the police service in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The families were people mostly trusting of the police, who after their horrific loss found themselves in a nightmare, fighting the polices false case and repeated letdowns by the legal system. He admitted his focus before the match had been on dealing with misbehaviour, and he had not considered the need to protect people from overcrowding or crushing. The police have a difficult, vital job, to keep society safe. Duckenfield failed to close a tunnel which, after taking thirty years for him to admit, was the 'direct cause of the deaths of the 96 persons'. Wright briefed them. STATEMENTS made by cops after the Hillsborough disaster were edited to remove accounts which said they were short-staffed and "like headless chicken . And yet the culture of delay, denial and defensiveness by the police and other public and corporate bodies continues after state-related deaths. It airs on consecutive nights this week, from Sunday, January 2, to Wednesday, January 5, at 9pm each . Others, with bereaved families sitting feet away, repeated their original allegations and went no further. A picture emerged in glimpses of a drinking culture in the South Yorkshire police, with most stations at the time having a bar. The chief constable, Peter Wright, had to state that evening that police had authorised the opening of the gate, but as these inquests, at two years the longest jury case in British history, heard in voluminous detail, Duckenfields lie endured. Wright, Page told the court, responded by saying: Thats our position, thats our stance, and thats what well have to stand by. Wright barely ever spoke to him again. Within F divisions base at Hammerton Road station, the Guardian has been told, rank-and-file officers believed that Mole, their popular gaffer, was moved because of the prank. Chief ambulance officer Albert Page said this was "too long" a delay. A breach of the Standards of Professional Behaviour that would justify at least a written warning. One was Russell Greaves, a detective constable who tried to revive Sarah Hicks, 19, on the pitch after she had been brought out of the crush next to her sister, Vicki, 15. Police forces have warned that more action is required to stamp out 'disgusting' football chants about the Hillsborough disaster. David Whitmore, an expert in pre-hospital care, criticised a senior ambulance officer, Paul Eason, for failing to look inside the pens, even though a major disaster was unfolding in front of him. Read about our approach to external linking. He told Wright that ambulance officers were reporting very, very few people [injured and] in the fatality stage had strong smells of alcohol on them. That put into perspective the relentless police allegations about people who had a drink before a football match, the po-faced assertions that people smelled of intoxicants or were, in the odd phrase favoured by Beggs, in drink. Not one officer mentioned the actual cause of the deaths, the failure to close the tunnel, or the horror people suffered. This may only happen in certain circumstances where the complaint fits one or more of the grounds for disapplication set out in law. In a course of events that would be repeated eight years later, police opened Gate C after congestion at the turnstiles. They were there with other police colleagues to support Liverpool football club. The police, he said, never even told them Duckenfield was inexperienced. The families of those killed in the pens of Hillsboroughs Leppings Lane terrace, who have had to fight 27 years for justice and accountability, recalled the appalling way the South Yorkshire police treated them, even when breaking the news of loved ones deaths. Yet many seemed oddly still like a force apart, speaking a macabre, dehumanised language: males, youths, casualties, intoxicants. Reaching this notorious moment on his second day in the witness box, Duckenfield made more landmark admissions that went far beyond what he had confessed previously, to Lord Justice Taylors official 1989 inquiry, the first 1990-91 inquest in Sheffield, and the families private prosecutions of him and Supt Bernard Murray in 2000, when Duckenfield exercised his right to stay silent. BBC News takes a look at some of the key decisions and failures. Ninety-seven children, women and men lost their lives as a result of the disaster at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium on April 15, 1989. Its purpose was to assist in the full public disclosure of information relating to the disaster. The number of fans passing through each turnstile was three times higher than at other turnstiles in the stadium, an HSE investigation found in 1990. The jury at the Hillsborough inquests has found 96 football fans were unlawfully killed, after hearing two years of evidence. They were then immediately interviewed by CID officers. The organisation that is responsible for assessing how to deal with a complaint. Four years later, on 15 April 1989, 24,000 Liverpool supporters set off in high spirits for the semi-final in Sheffield, their safety dependent on the same police force. Although Addis did not specify what he was told, McKay, who gave evidence at the inquests, has always vehemently made the case that Liverpool supporters misbehaved and were drunk. He did not know what he was doing. Quarter 4 covers the full financial year (1 April - 31 March). From his concession that he had inadequate experience to oversee the safety of 54,000 people, to finally accepting responsibility for the deaths, Duckenfields admissions were shockingly complete. Jackson, asked if the order to use blank pieces of paper was improper, replied: Well, the normal practice is to write your notes in the notebook.. Two retired officers and an ex-police solicitor are on. Marshall conceded he did not make any decisions of his own to alleviate the developing crisis, or give orders to his officers, who he agreed became inoperative and ineffective at the turnstiles, despite doing their best. This official police submission said of the cause: Senior officers found themselves suddenly overwhelmed by several thousand spectators who had converged on the Leppings Lane entrance within a few minutes of the designated time for kick-off, many of whom being the worse for drink embarked upon a determined course of action, the aim of which was to enter Hillsborough football stadium at all cost; irrespective of any danger to property, or more importantly, the lives and safety of others., Wain, questioned by Daw, his own barrister, accepted that the report could have been better expressed in places, but asserted he produced it honestly and in good faith. However, the resumed inquests heard the response by emergency services had been "woefully inadeqate". Advertising. Police chiefs apologised today in response to a damning report on the Hillsborough disaster. The legacy issues relate to the costs of paying for mistakes that were made by South Yorkshire police in the past. I am still waiting to wake my girls up from this nightmare, and send their daddy in to them, McGlone wrote. David Duckenfield arrives to give evidence in March 2015. Ramsden replied: Yes, I did make reference to that. Four months after the Hillsborough disaster, in August 1989, Lord Justice Peter Taylor, who was heading the government's inquiry, released an interim report that condemned police actions as the primary cause of the disaster. Dr Stefan Popper, the coroner, who approved the arrangements, ordered blood samples to be taken from all victims and tested for alcohol even the children, including Jon-Paul Gilhooley, the youngest, aged 10. Following the death of Andrew Devine on 27 July 2021, as a direct result of the injuries he sustained at Hillsborough, at an inquest hearing the Coroner found that it was more likely than not that Andrew Devine was unlawfully killed, making him the 97th fatality from the events of 15th April 1989.. The original Hillsborough inquests did not consider the response of the emergency services because the coroner, Dr Stefan Popper, controversially ruled out evidence from after 15.15 on the day of the disaster. Mr Duckenfield decided the game should go ahead, said he now accepted he should have delayed the kick-off, "profound regret" at not requesting a delayed kick-off, crowd safety should have been Mr Duckenfield's paramount consideration", "a problem for the police to deal with". Wright never doubted the rightness of the violent defeat meted out to the miners, and when the prosecutions collapsed adamantly denied any malpractice. Mr Cutlack told the inquests the annual inspections of the ground were missed opportunities to reassess the capacity. There were two piles of bodies at the front, and Eddison said a hand at the bottom of one was pulling at his trouser leg. The IPCC said the evidence raises doubts about the ethical standards and complicity of officers high up in [South Yorkshire police]. The entire police response to the Hillsborough Disaster was appalling. There was a failure to get through to the police control room. Kevin Daniel Williams, 15 - Cause of death: compression asphyxia. The decision was dealt with by the original Taylor inquiry into the disaster. The Hillsborough Disaster occurred in an historical media framework that already labelled Liverpool as rebellious and anarchistic. The crushing occurred during a match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England, on April 15, 1989. But, after discussing the postponement with his deputy, Supt Bernard Murray, Mr Duckenfield decided the game should go ahead on time. Based on initial briefings by the police, The Sun laid the blame for the Hillsborough disaster squarely on Liverpool fans, accusing them of being drunk, and in some cases of deliberately hindering the emergency response.