Hillsborough: Jury concludes 96 victims '˜unlawfully killed'

Some of the 96 victims of the Hillsborough disaster. Picture: PA

It was not “the truth” once told by the police and sections of the tabloid press, but the judgement of nine ordinary men and women following the longest jury proceedings in British legal history.

In a court room in Warrington, Cheshire, the families of 96 Liverpool fans who died in the Hillsborough disaster finally heard what they had always known, that their loved ones had been unlawfully killed.

The jury also found that match commander Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield, of South Yorkshire Police, was in breach of the duty of care he owed to the fans in the ground.

Injured fan recieving medical attention on the pitch at Hillsborough. Picture: PA

Police errors and the design of the stadium contributed to the disaster, the jury said. Crucially, however, the behaviour of fans did not.

English football’s darkest day, the Hillsborough tragedy took place during Liverpool’s FA Cup semi-final tie against Nottingham Forest on April 15 1989, as thousands of fans were crushed at Sheffield Wednesday’s ground.

The inquests found the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans occurred due to crushing in the central pens of the Leppings Lane terrace after supporters were allowed to enter the stadium through exit gates.

Mr Duckenfield had given the order at 2.52pm to open Gate C in Leppings Lane, allowing 2,000 supporters to enter the already packed area behind the goal.

Liverpool fans climb the terraces in a desperate bid to escape severe crushing at the Leeping Lane end at Hillsborough. Picture: PA

Now 71, the retired police officer is at risk of prosecution, for the second time, for his conduct at Hillsborough, and has already been interviewed under caution by detectives from Operation Resolve, the on-going police investigation into the disaster.

Tearful relatives of “the 96” leapt to their feet and cheered as the jury delivered the unlawful killing verdict.

One family member shouted “Alleluia!” as others slumped in their seats, overcome with emotion.

Perhaps the defining image of the day, however, came not from the courtroom, but from outside where dozens of people began singing the Liverpool anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone and chanting “Justice for the 96”, their long-held defiance finally rewarded with the justice they so craved.

The jurors had been told they could only reach a determination of unlawful killing if they were sure of four “essential” matters concerning the deaths.

They had to be convinced that Mr Duckenfield owed a duty of care to those who died in the disaster, and that he was in breach of that duty of care.

Thirdly, they would need to be satisfied that his breach of duty caused the deaths and, fourthly, that it amounted to “gross negligence”.

They concluded it was unlawful killing by a 7-2 majority.

The jury forewoman wiped away tears as she confirmed the answers to coroner Sir John Goldring.

After the jurors finished and were thanked by the coroner, one relative shouted aloud “God bless the jury!” and the families stood and clapped them as they left court.

Leading Hillsborough campaigner Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died in the disaster, said afterwards: “Let’s be honest about this - people were against us. We had the media against us, as well as the establishment.

“Everything was against us. The only people that weren’t against us was our own city. That’s why I am so grateful to my city and so proud of my city. They always believed in us.”

Fathers and sons, mothers, sisters and brothers were all among the 96 who died at Hillsborough.

The youngest was Jon-Paul Gilhooley, the ten-year-old cousin of future England and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard.

The oldest was ex-RAF war veteran and father-of-seven Gerard Baron, 67.

Thirty-eight of those who died were aged 19 or younger.

The inquests began on March 31, 2014 after the 1991 accidental deaths verdicts were quashed.

Dozens of relatives of the victims have attended each of the more than 300 days the court has sat.

In a statement, lawyers for the families said: “Whatever the view of the conclusions reached by the jury, we consider that the emergence of the many vital and previously hidden truths during the course of the inquests completely vindicates the families’ long fight for justice.

“It is therefore all the more shameful that, rather than focusing on the search for truth and despite having made public apologies, the approach to the inquests taken by South Yorkshire Police and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service was to fight tooth and nail to avoid adverse findings by the jury.”

After the verdict was announced, Labour MP Andy Burnham, the former cabinet minister widely credited with helping to secure a new inquest, said: “This has been the greatest miscarriage of justice of our times.

“But, finally, it is over. After 27 long years, this is real justice for the 96, their families and all Liverpool supporters.

Mr Burnham added: “For 27 years, this police force has consistently put protecting itself above protecting those hurt by the horror of Hillsborough. People must be held to account for their actions and prosecutions must now follow.”

The cost of the Hillsborough inquests and the two major police investigations is running at more than £116 million and rising.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is currently carrying out an investigation into alleged criminality and alleged police misconduct in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Home Secretary Theresa May will give the Government’s response to the inquests tomorrow in an oral statement to the House of Commons.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the jury’s verdict was official confirmation that Liverpool fans were “utterly blameless” in the disaster.

Responding to the jury’s findings, David Crompton, chief constable of South Yorkshire Police, said: “I want to make it absolutely clear that we unequivocally accept the verdict of unlawful killing and the wider findings reached by the jury in the Hillsborough inquests.

“On 15th April 1989, South Yorkshire Police got the policing of the FA cup semi-final at Hillsborough catastrophically wrong. It was and still is the biggest disaster in British sporting history. That day 96 people died and the lives of many others were changed forever. The force failed the victims and failed their families.

“Today, as I have said before, I want to apologise unreservedly to the families and all those affected.”

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