For 27 years the families of the Hillsborough victims and the survivors of the disaster have had to listen to lies and smears about that fateful day. For 27 years the police and the authorities have covered up what really happened in order to preserve their own reputations. For 27 years everyone associated with Liverpool Football Club have wanted justice.
Today, at long last, the truth is out.
The jury at the new inquest into the Hillsborough disaster declared unanimously what we’ve known all along: That Liverpool fans were in no way responsible for what happened in Sheffield on the 15th of April 1989.
A majority of the jury, 7 to 2, declared something else that we’ve known all along: That the 96 Liverpool fans who lost their lives at Hillsborough were unlawfully killed.
For 27 years Liverpool fans have chanted ‘Justice For The 96’. Let’s be clear about something: There hasn’t been justice yet. Justice won’t be done until the people at fault are held responsible and punished accordingly. The Football Association, Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, the designers of Hillsborough Stadium and, of course, the match commander David Duckenfield all have to shoulder a huge part of the blame for the errors that led to the deaths of 96 innocent men, women and children.
Justice hasn’t been done yet, but it’s coming. The clock is ticking on South Yorkshire Police and Duckenfield. Quite right, too.
Anne Williams, a campaigner whose son Kevin died at Hillsborough, refused to pick up the original death certificate that declared his was an ‘accidental death’. She campaigned relentlessly for the truth to be told and was once informed, “You’ll never grind them down”. She replied, “They’ll never grind me down”.
Anne lost her life in 2013, but she will forever be remembered as the real Iron Lady. She never saw justice delivered for her son, but she didn’t need to be there today to know what the truth was. Neither did John Glover, the father of Philip Glover who also died at Hillsborough.
They shouldn’t be forgotten today, as their never-ending belief that the truth would out has surely driven the campaign on during its most difficult moments.
The survivors must also be remembered. Never again will anyone be allowed to tell them they were responsible for the disaster without looking like an idiot. Until today such outrageous claims remarkably had the backing of official channels, but the cover-up can go on no more.
In 1989 a newspaper that I won’t dignify by naming printing a front page suggesting they knew the ‘Truth’ about Hillsborough. What followed were outrageous lies that some have allowed to stick with the victims, the survivors and the people of Liverpool ever since. They were wrong then and their decision to say nothing of today’s result at the time of writing means they’re still wrong now.
Here’s the truth:
- Liverpool fans were unlawfully killed
- Fans were not to blame for anything that happened that day
- The police made major omissions in their planning and preperation
- The police’s response to the situation was ‘slow and uncoordinated
- The commanding officers, such as David Duckenfield, made major errors
- The design of the stadium did not comply with safety regulations
- Ambulance officers failed in their duties
- The police lacked command, communication and coordination
Nothing can bring the 96 victims of the Hillsborough Disaster back. Justice hasn’t been served yet. There’s still a long road ahead. But let’s be absolutely clear:
After 27 incredibly long, painful years the families, the survivors and the supporters of Liverpool Football Club can hold their heads up high as the rest of the world is forced to acknowledge what we’ve known all along.
THE TRUTH
- Jon-Paul Gilhooley
- Philip Hammond
- Thomas Anthony Howard
- Paul Brian Murray
- Lee Nicol
- Adam Edward Spearritt
- Peter Andrew Harrison
- Victoria Jane Hicks
- Philip John Steele
- Kevin Tyrrell
- Kevin Daniel Williams
- Kester Roger Marcus Ball
- Nicholas Michael Hewitt
- Martin Kevin Traynor
- Simon Bell
- Carl Darren Hewitt
- Keith McGrath
- Stephen Francis O’Neill
- Steven Joseph Robinson
- Henry Charles Rogers
- Stuart Paul William Thompson
- Graham John Wright
- James Gary Aspinall
- Carl Brown
- Paul Clark
- Christopher Barry Devonside
- Gary Philip Jones
- Carl David Lewis
- John McBrien
- Jonathon Owens
- Colin Mark Ashcroft
- Paul William Carlile
- Gary Christopher Church
- James Philip Delaney
- Sarah Louise Hicks
- David William Mather
- Colin Wafer
- Ian David Whelan
- Stephen Paul Copoc
- Ian Thomas Glover
- Gordon Rodney Horn
- Paul David Brady
- Thomas Steven Fox
- Marian Hazel McCabe
- Joseph Daniel McCarthy
- Peter McDonnell
- Carl William Rimmer
- Peter Francis Tootle
- David John Benson
- David William Birtle
- Tony Bland
- Gary Collins
- Tracey Elizabeth Cox
- William Roy Pemberton
- Colin Andrew Hugh William Sefton
- David Leonard Thomas
- Peter Andrew Burkett
- Derrick George Godwin
- Graham John Roberts
- David Steven Brown
- Richard Jones
- Barry Sidney Bennett
- Andrew Mark Brookes
- Paul Anthony Hewitson
- Paula Ann Smith
- Christopher James Traynor
- Barry Glover
- Gary Harrison
- Christine Anne Jones
- Nicholas Peter Joynes
- Francis Joseph McAllister
- Alan McGlone
- Joseph Clark
- Christopher Edwards
- James Robert Hennessy
- Alan Johnston
- Anthony Peter Kelly
- Martin Kenneth Wild
- Peter Reuben Thompson
- Stephen Francis Harrison
- Eric Hankin
- Vincent Michael Fitzsimmons
- Roy Harry Hamilton
- Patrick John Thompson
- Michael David Kelly
- Brian Christopher Mathews
- David George Rimmer
- Inger Shah
- David Hawley
- Thomas Howard
- Arthur Horrocks
- Eric George Hughes
- Henry Thomas Burke
- Raymond Thomas Chapman
- John Alfred Anderson
- Gerard Bernard Patrick Baron
You’ll Never Walk Alone
