The families of the victims of the Hillsborough stadium tragedy, which left 97 dead during a match in Sheffield in 1989, expressed their sense of injustice on Tuesday after the publication of a damning investigation report for the police.
Some 97 supporters of the Liverpool club died in a crowd movement in this stadium on April 15, 1989, during the semi-final of the FA Cup, in the worst tragedy in British sport.
36 years later, the police, the IOPC, published a report on Tuesday concluding an investigation launched in 2012: it noted failings by the police “both in terms of preparing for the match and maintaining order as well as in their response to the disaster”.
12 police officers should have been prosecuted
Previous investigations had already revealed failings, but the IOPC report concluded that 12 police officers should have been prosecuted for serious misconduct due to “fundamental failings” during the match and “concerted” attempts to shift blame to supporters.
Now retired or deceased, they will not face any legal proceedings. Several police officers prosecuted in the past in this case have been found not guilty. “No one will be held responsible,” lamented the main lawyer for the victims’ families, Nicola Brook, during a press conference.
Margaret Aspinall, who lost her 18-year-old son in the tragedy, described it as a “national disgrace” that the officers cited “walked free with full pensions”. “We will never obtain justice and we knew it,” reacted Charlotte Hennessy, whose father died in the tragedy. The report “confirms everything survivors and families have always said,” she added.
A murderous crowd movement
As Liverpool fans crowded the turnstiles as kick-off approached, police opened an exit gate to ease the pressure. But the fans rushed to an already crowded stand.
The crowd movement initially led to the death of 94 people, pressed against the gates bordering the pitch, before two other people died. In 2021, a 97th victim was officially recognized, dying 32 years after his injuries.
The regional police admitted, in 2023, to having “catastrophically managed” the security of the match. On Tuesday, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood called Hillsborough “one of the biggest policing failures” in the UK.
A bill currently being considered in Parliament introduces a legal obligation for civil servants, including police officers, to respond truthfully to investigations. And in 2017, a law was passed allowing the prosecution of retired or resigned police officers.