Prosecutors will investigate whether to bring criminal charges in connection with Britain's biggest ever sporting disaster, after an inquest found that 96 football fans crushed to death at Hillsborough stadium in 1989 were killed unlawfully.
Relatives wept, cheered and applauded as the jury's verdict was read out at a purpose-built coroner's courtroom in Warrington.
Outside, relatives and friends of the victims sang You'll Never Walk Alone, the anthem of Liverpool FC, whose fans were cleared of any blame for the disaster.
The jurors found that Chief Supt David Duckenfield, the police officer in charge of the match, was guilty of "gross negligence" which led to the unlawful killings. They blamed Sheffield Wednesday, whose home ground is Hillsborough, for providing too few turnstiles for the capacity crowd at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.
Errors by police and ambulance services contributed to the deaths, almost all of which were caused by compression and asphyxia. The behaviour of Liverpool fans, who were vilified after the disaster, contributed in no way to the deaths.
Apology
Four days after Hillsborough, the
Sun
ran a front page story alleging that Liverpool fans’ “hooliganism” contributed to the deaths, for which the newspaper later apologised.
Barry Devonside, whose only son Christopher was 18 when he died at Hillsborough, said the verdict went further than he had hoped or expected.
“Today we gained the confidence from the jury that what we’ve tried to do for 27 years is to bring justice for those who never went home,” he said
“I never thought in my wildest dreams that we would get this decision. I always hoped and dreamt that we would get this decision. I’m glad we did. We did our best – we couldn’t do any more.”
Criminal charges
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it would formally consider whether any criminal charges should be brought against “any individual or corporate body based upon all the available evidence”.
The CPS will have to consider whether to bring charges against Mr Duckenfield, who admitted during the inquest he had told a “terrible lie” when he claimed Liverpool fans had forced open the gate to the end of the ground, where the crush took place.
Tuesday’s verdict, which came at the end of the longest inquest heard by a jury in British history, lasting two years, was the culmination of a 27-year campaign by the victims’ relatives.
An inquest in 1991, two years after the disaster, returned a verdict of accidental death, which the families succeeded in having overturned more than 20 years later, following the publication of an independent report on what happened at Hillsborough.
Labour's shadow home secretary Andy Burnham, who was in the courtroom for the verdict, said it was clear that the police had been guilty of a cover-up and it was time for accountability.
“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. The survivors of this tragedy can finally be remembered for what they were on that day – the heroes of Hillsborough who tried to help their fellow fans,” he said.
“The Hillsborough Independent Panel gave us the truth. This inquest has delivered justice. Next must come accountability. 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.”
It took 50 minutes to list the names and cause of death of all 96 victims, 38 of whom were in their teens and 40 in their 20s. Current and former Liverpool players were among the first to react to the verdict, which Michael Owen described as "way, way, way overdue".
Tragedy
Former Liverpool manager
Rafael Benitez
said he hoped it would ensure that such a tragedy could never happen again.
“After so many years fighting for justice I am really pleased to see the verdict today, which confirms what we have been saying for a long time. I am especially pleased for the families of the 96 who have sought justice for so long and with such dignity, as well as for the people of Liverpool and for football fans in general,” he said.
