The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during
a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield,
South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred
during an FA Cup semi-final, Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest,
in the two standing-only central pens in the Leppings Lane
stand allocated to Liverpool supporters. Shortly before
kick-off, in an attempt to ease overcrowding outside the
entrance turnstiles, the police match commander David
Duckenfield ordered exit gate C opened, leading to an
influx of even more supporters to the pens. This led to
a crowding in the pens and the crush.

With 96 deaths & 766 injuries, it has the highest death
toll in British sporting history. 94 people died on the
day; another person died in hospital days later & the
final victim, who had been put into persistent vegetative
state by the crush & had never regained consciousness,
died in 1993. The match was abandoned but was restaged at
Old Trafford in Manchester on 7 May 1989 with Liverpool
winning and going on to win the FA Cup.

In the following days & weeks police fed the press false
stories suggesting that hooliganism & drunkenness by
Liverpool supporters had caused the disaster. Blaming of
Liverpool fans persisted even after the Taylor Report of
1990, which found that the main cause was a failure of
control by South Yorkshire Police (SYP). Following the
Taylor Report, the Director of Public Prosecutions ruled
there was no evidence to justify prosecution of any
individuals or institutions. The disaster also led to a
number of safety improvements in the largest English
football grounds, notably the elimination of fenced
standing terraces in favour of all-seater stadiums in
the top two tiers of English football.

The 1st inquests into the disaster, completed in 1991,
ruled all the deaths accidental. Families rejected the
findings, & fought to have the case re-opened. In 1997,
Lord Justice Stuart-Smith concluded that there was no
justification for a new inquiry. Private prosecutions
brought by the Hillsborough Families Support Group
against Duckenfield & his deputy Bernard Murray failed
in 2000. In 2009, a Hillsborough Independent Panel was
formed to review the evidence. 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, & the error
of the 1st inquests. The panel's report resulted in the
previous findings of accidental death being quashed, &
the creation of new inquests. It also produced two
criminal investigations led by police in 2012: Operation
Resolve to look into the causes of the disaster, & by
the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to
examine actions by police in the aftermath.

The 2nd inquests were held from 1-26 Apr 2016. They
ruled that the supporters were unlawfully killed due to
grossly negligent failures by police & ambulance svcs
to fulfil their duty of care. The inquests also found
that the design of the stadium contributed to the crush,
& that supporters were not to blame for the dangerous
conditions. Public anger over the actions of their force
during the 2nd inquests led to the suspension of SYP
chief constable David Crompton following the verdict.
In Jun 2017, six people were charged with offences
including manslaughter by gross negligence, misconduct
in public office & perverting the course of justice for
their actions during & after the disaster. The Crown
Prosecution Service subsequently dropped all charges
against one of the defendants.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsborough_disaster

On 04/03/2021 18:36, David P wrote:
The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during
a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield,
South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred
during an FA Cup semi-final, Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest,
in the two standing-only central pens in the Leppings Lane
stand allocated to Liverpool supporters. Shortly before
kick-off, in an attempt to ease overcrowding outside the
entrance turnstiles, the police match commander David
Duckenfield ordered exit gate C opened, leading to an
influx of even more supporters to the pens. This led to
a crowding in the pens and the crush.

With 96 deaths & 766 injuries, it has the highest death
toll in British sporting history. 94 people died on the
day; another person died in hospital days later & the
final victim, who had been put into persistent vegetative
state by the crush & had never regained consciousness,
died in 1993. The match was abandoned but was restaged at
Old Trafford in Manchester on 7 May 1989 with Liverpool
winning and going on to win the FA Cup.

In the following days & weeks police fed the press false
stories suggesting that hooliganism & drunkenness by
Liverpool supporters had caused the disaster. Blaming of
Liverpool fans persisted even after the Taylor Report of
1990, which found that the main cause was a failure of
control by South Yorkshire Police (SYP). Following the
Taylor Report, the Director of Public Prosecutions ruled
there was no evidence to justify prosecution of any
individuals or institutions. The disaster also led to a
number of safety improvements in the largest English
football grounds, notably the elimination of fenced
standing terraces in favour of all-seater stadiums in
the top two tiers of English football.

The 1st inquests into the disaster, completed in 1991,
ruled all the deaths accidental. Families rejected the
findings, & fought to have the case re-opened. In 1997,
Lord Justice Stuart-Smith concluded that there was no
justification for a new inquiry. Private prosecutions
brought by the Hillsborough Families Support Group
against Duckenfield & his deputy Bernard Murray failed
in 2000. In 2009, a Hillsborough Independent Panel was
formed to review the evidence. 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, & the error
of the 1st inquests. The panel's report resulted in the
previous findings of accidental death being quashed, &
the creation of new inquests. It also produced two
criminal investigations led by police in 2012: Operation
Resolve to look into the causes of the disaster, & by
the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to
examine actions by police in the aftermath.

The 2nd inquests were held from 1-26 Apr 2016. They
ruled that the supporters were unlawfully killed due to
grossly negligent failures by police & ambulance svcs
to fulfil their duty of care. The inquests also found
that the design of the stadium contributed to the crush,
& that supporters were not to blame for the dangerous
conditions. Public anger over the actions of their force
during the 2nd inquests led to the suspension of SYP
chief constable David Crompton following the verdict.
In Jun 2017, six people were charged with offences
including manslaughter by gross negligence, misconduct
in public office & perverting the course of justice for
their actions during & after the disaster. The Crown
Prosecution Service subsequently dropped all charges
against one of the defendants.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsborough_disaster



Three cheers for my local police force.

Then there is Orgreave, SY99 and the Rotherham sex scandal.





--
Adam