Long quest for Hillsborough justice nears an end after years of heartbreak

When Chris Lam and Jim Sharman arrived at an anonymous office building in a business park in the Cheshire town of Warrington yesterday morning, the message they brought with them told of an agonising yet unswerving quest for justice.

Relatives of the Hillsborough sing 'You'll never walk alone' as they depart Birchwood Park after hearing the conclusions of the Hillsborough inquest. Picture: Getty

The two men, one a survivor of Hillsborough, the other a tireless campaigner, brandished an 18-foot-high banner in the deep shade of red synonymous with their beloved Liverpool FC, a colour the club’s former manager, Bill Shankly, knew to signify danger, but also power. Were there any doubt as to the potency of the banner, it was announced for all to see in capital letters. “WE CLIMBED THE HILL IN OUR OWN WAY”, it announced.

After more than a quarter century of heartbreak, vilification and marginalisation, Liverpool’s power has at last spoken to that of the establishment, marking a turning point in the long campaign waged by survivors and families.

It comes 25 years after the jury at an initial inquest returned a majority verdict of accidental death. When that decision was read out in Sheffield town hall in March 1991, some relatives broke down in tears. Others screamed in anger. Yesterday, family members rose to applaud the jurors as they left the coroner’s court. “God bless the jury!” one shouted. The feelings were of euphoria and relief, but also disbelief.

Lord Justice Taylor’s official report, published four months after the disaster, criticised South Yorkshire police for blaming Liverpool fans and made clear police mismanagement led to the mass loss of life.

That publication offered hope for those who demanded answers, but it was to prove a false dawn. A year later, Allan Green, the director of public prosecutions, decided not to bring criminal charges against any individual, group or body on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

In 1993, six families made a judicial review application in an attempt to quash the verdict of the initial inquest, but it was rejected by Lord Justice McCowan in the divisional court. Their anguish was compounded when Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield, the match commander, retired in 1991, in doing so bringing to a halt disciplinary proceedings brought by the Police Complaints Authority.

In the late 1990s, a review by Lord Justice Stuart-Smith found that police evidence to the Taylor inquiry had been doctored, yet home secretary Jack Straw ruled out a new inquiry. The families pressed ahead with a private prosecution of Mr Duckenfield and Mr Murray for manslaughter, but the latter was acquitted after a six-week trial at Leeds crown court. The jury did not reach a verdict on Mr Duckenfield.

The years that followed sorely tested the resilience of the families. Some who devoted their lives to the cause of justice, such as Anne Williams, died without answers.

But the journey towards the truth intensified in 2009 when, addressing the 20th anniversary memorial service, Labour MP Andy Burnham was interrupted by chants of “Justice for the 96.” Within seven months, the UK government had established the Hillsborough Independent Panel which reviewed hundreds of thousands of documents and exposed a police campaign to blame fans.

That paved the way for yesterday’s verdict, but also Operation Resolve, a police inquiry looking at the lead-up to the tragedy and the day of the match, and a separate probe by the Independent Police Complaints Commission into the alleged cover-up. Both are expected to be completed by the year’s end before they submit their evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service.

As Trevor Hicks, who lost his teenage daughters, Sarah and Vicki, said yesterday: “We have to hand over now. The arms of the state should be working for us now rather than against us.”