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Hillsborough Disaster: Police to Blame

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26 April 2016

By Alex Khalil

The families of the 96 football fans who died in 1989 have finally been given the closure they needed.

It has been admitted in court that it was ‘police errors’ that caused nearly a hundred people to be crushed at the FA Cup semi-final.

Jurors answered ‘yes’ when asked whether the police made any errors, or contributed to the danger of the situation.

The behaviour of Liverpool fans was not to blame for the situation, it was found.

When the trial concluded, and the unlawful killing had been declared, families were seen hugging and crying.

After what must seem like an age, the truth has finally been revealed. We now remember an inflammatory headline regarding the event from The Sun:

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And even a letter from Margaret Thatcher’s press secretary:

 

All these were pinning the blame on the fans, and not highlighting the errors made by the police and emergency services.

The jury also found:

  • Police errors caused a dangerous situation at the turnstiles
  • Failures by commanding officers caused a crush on the terraces
  • There were mistakes in the police control box over the order to open the Leppings Lane end exit gates
  • Defects at the stadium contributed to the disaster
  • There was an error in the safety certification of the Hillsborough stadium
  • Police delayed declaring a major incident
  • The emergency response including the ambulance service was also delayed

Our thoughts are with the families who lost loved ones in the disaster.

Many are now pushing for prosecution of those responsible for the errors.

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