Hillsborough document release

[Strix]

No, but being dead does.

 

unless you are once a DJ

[mikem8634]

Hillsborough inquest verdicts quashed by High Court

 

 

The High Court has quashed the original inquest verdicts returned on 96 Liverpool football fans who died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

 

The Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge ordered fresh inquests following an application by the Attorney General.

 

Trevor Hicks of the Hillsborough Family Support Group said it was "a huge step for the families".

 

The home secretary has also announced a new police inquiry into the disaster.

 

Theresa May said the new inquiry would re-examine what happened in April 1989.

 

New medical evidence was used as a basis for the new inquests application.

 

Dominic Grieve made his request to the High Court three months after a new report established 41 of those who died might have been saved.

 

Mr Grieve said the application was being made as a consequence of the Hillsborough Panel's report published on 12 September, which he said was a "remarkable" document.

 

He said that Dr Bill Kirkup, the medical member of the panel and a former associate chief medical officer at the Department of Health, had explained that, of the deceased, 58 "definitely" or "probably" had the capacity to survive beyond the 15:15 cut-off time.

 

That new evidence, which Mr Grieve said formed the "essential basis" for his application "undermines the coroner's summing-up at the inquests".

 

In making his judgement, Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge said there had been "deliberate misinformation surrounding the disaster".

 

"There has been a profound and palpable belief that justice had not been done [and] it is clear there are sound grounds for this application," he said.

 

He added that the court wanted to "record our admiration and respect [to the families] for their determined search for the truth about the disaster and why and how it had occurred, which - despite disappointments and setbacks - has continued for nearly quarter of a century."

 

As court five of the High Court filled up with the bereaved and survivors of Hillsborough, the room was full of expectation.

 

They had travelled more than 200 miles to be here, some leaving Liverpool at dawn.

 

Campaigner Anne Williams, suffering from cancer, was determined to come, and was brought into court in her wheelchair.

 

This moment has been anticipated for more than two decades.

 

Relatives were so unhappy with the original verdicts of accidental death, they refused to collect their loved ones' death certificates.

 

And they have always been angry at the coroner's assessment that all Hillsborough victims were fatally injured by 15:15.

 

For them, the opportunity to see the verdicts quashed and new inquests ordered was too important to miss.

 

When it came, normal court decorum was abandoned - the room erupted into applause, some relatives cried, and caught in the moment, one woman shouted "Thank you, your Honour".

 

The judgement was applauded by the families of some of the victims in the court.

 

Speaking outside, Mr Hicks, who lost two daughters in the disaster, said the families "couldn't have written it better".

 

"It's clear now justice is on its way - I think a lot of us are going to have a much happier Christmas," he said.

 

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said he would do "everything I can to help to get new inquests established quickly".

 

"I have received a request from the Doncaster and Bradford Coroners for a judge to be appointed to conduct these inquests and I am today asking the Lord Chief Justice to make a recommendation to me on suitable candidates as soon as possible," he said.

 

Mrs May said former Durham Chief Constable Jon Stoddart would lead the new inquiry, which will focus specifically on the 96 deaths of Liverpool fans as a result of what happened at the FA Cup semi-final in 1989.

 

The fans died after they were crushed within two pens at the Leppings Lane terrace of Sheffield Wednesday's stadium during the semi-final with Nottingham Forest on 15 April 1989.

 

Mrs May said she was "determined to see a swift and thorough response to the findings of the Hillsborough Panel to deliver justice for the 96 football fans who died and the families who have fought so hard on their behalf".

 

Mr Stoddart will be able to recruit investigators and staff to his team, but he will not be allowed to employ officers or former officers with any prior connection to the Hillsborough disaster or from the West Midlands, South Yorkshire or Merseyside police forces.

 

He said he was "aware of the great significance and personal responsibility which comes with leading this criminal investigation".

 

"My first priority is to meet with as many of the families as possible and to establish a working open relationship with them throughout the investigation," he said.

 

South Yorkshire Police Chief Constable David Crompton said the force, which policed the game in 1989, would "continue to co-operate fully with any judicial processes".

 

"We do not want to cause any unnecessary delays for the families and reiterate our commitment to supporting all processes," he said.

 

In making his request, the Attorney General said the "horrific" events at the stadium were well known and "were seen by millions on television as the tragedy unfolded and by many of the spectators at the stadium itself".

 

He said that in the months and years that followed, the events that led to the tragedy "have been the subject of numerous investigations and inquiries".

 

The original inquest verdicts angered many of the bereaved families who were told at the 1990 hearing that all Hillsborough's victims had been injured by 15:15 on the afternoon of the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

 

Evidence covering the response by the emergency services after this time was also not heard at the original inquest.

 

While some relatives of those who died travelled to London for the High Court hearing, other family members and survivors watched the hearing on screens in Liverpool Family Court.

 

 

Jon Stoddart stepped down as Durham Police chief constable in October

Damian Kavanagh, who was in the crowd on the day and helped care for those injured, said the judgement was "massive".

 

"I never thought this day would come. It's uplifting to get to this stage and a serious wrong in society is going to be put right," he said.

 

"It's been an open wound for the city. We went through hell on that day and to get it turned around as if it was our fault, I can't describe it."

 

Margaret Aspinall, who lost her son in the disaster, said something had "been achieved here today that's not been achieved before".

 

"It's took us 23 years to get this, we're not there yet but hopefully now we'll get there," she said.

 

"We have proved we were telling the truth all along - now we have to get the justice [the victims] deserve."

 

The Hillsborough panel's findings showed police and emergency services had made "strenuous attempts" to deflect the blame for the disaster on to the fans.

 

More than 160 police statements had been altered - 116 of them to remove or change negative comments about the policing of the match.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-20772416

[Jeffrey Shaw]

Remind me: what's the aim of re-opening the verdicts?

[mikem8634]

Remind me: what's the aim of re-opening the verdicts?

 

The verdicts have been quashed to allow for a fresh inquest.

Edited December 19, 2012 by mikem8634

[frededwards]

Remind me: what's the aim of re-opening the verdicts?

 

It will open the door for very large compensation claims.

[mikem8634]

It will open the door for very large compensation claims.

 

Hopefully so.

[rossyrooney]

Cripes...Orgreave...Hillsborough...Plebgate...Soon there'll be more cops than crims locked up.

 

We can always take heart in the fact G4S are always on standby to guard over us after their sterling work at the olympics

[LeMaquis]

Remind me: what's the aim of re-opening the verdicts?

 

As a solicitor you don't seem to be too familiar with legal matters.

 

One website says "....the verdict clears the way for a new inquest into the deaths next year, re-examining the roles of the police and other emergency services, Sheffield council and Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, and leading to the possibility of new verdicts of unlawful killing."

[rossyrooney]

Remind me: what's the aim of re-opening the verdicts?

 

The verdicts have been quashed to allow for a fresh inquest.

 

It will open the door for very large compensation claims.

 

Hopefully so.

 

It would be a wonderful mark of respect if any monetary gain by survivors and relatives were to be donated to a deserving cause of their choice.

[Jeffrey Shaw]

As a solicitor you don't seem to be too familiar with legal matters.**

 

One website says "....the verdict clears the way for a new inquest into the deaths next year, re-examining the roles of the police and other emergency services, Sheffield council and Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, and leading to the possibility of new verdicts of unlawful killing."

** Yes, I am- but I wasn't familiar with that website. Which is it?