It also prompts calls for criminal action. When Mr Duckenfield, the police officer in charge of keeping people safe at Hillsborough in 1989, attempted to apologise for the deaths of 96 people, the family members listening to his testimony gasped. VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Why Covid lab-leak theory is now being taken seriously, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, Exploring the rigging claims in Nigeria's elections, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip, Ukraine war casts shadow over India's G20 ambitions, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. More than 2,000 fans then entered through exit gate C, with many heading for the tunnel ahead of them, which led to the central pens of the terrace where the crush happened. announcement by Labour minister Andy Burnham, Hillsborough Independent Panel publishes a report, Theresa May orders a new criminal investigation, The inquest jury concludes that the 96 victims were unlawfully killed. For a person to be found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter the prosecution has to prove that he - or she - owed a duty of care to the victim and negligently breached it. The court heard the chief superintendent ordered the opening of exit gates at the Leppings Lane end of the ground at 2.52pm, eight minutes before kick-off, after the area outside the turnstiles became dangerously overcrowded. Home secretary Theresa May orders a new criminal investigation into the disaster, Operation Resolve. Supporters were not responsible for what happened. I seek guidance from people with greater experience and expertise than me. What has been heard here in this court will have been surprising to many, she said. Yet this was not a doddery septuagenarian being persecuted inappropriately for actions long buried in the past. Mr Duckenfield said he felt the diagnosis was a "sign of weakness" and tried to "conceal" his conditions from family and colleagues but the publication of the report by the Hillsborough Independent Panel in 2012 and a TV programme he had seen about the disaster's effect on the families prompted him to finally tell the truth. The entrance had a limited number of turnstiles, of which just seven were allocated to the 10,100 fans with tickets for the standing terraces. No one should have to suffer the emotional damage that comes with such a burden. I did my very best on the day.". PC Maxwell Groome was on duty for the match at Sheffield Wednesdays stadium. Minutes later Duckenfield ordered for that gate to be opened again. A spokeswoman for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the verdict did not affect the findings of the Hillsborough inquests, which ruled the victims had been unlawfully killed. Jury fails to reach a verdict on the charges against Mr Duckenfield, but convicts Mr Mackrell of a health and safety offence. Now the Crown Prosecution Service could consider a prosecution against the former chief superintendent from South Yorkshire police after a jury decided his actions amounted to "manslaughter by gross negligence" due to a breach of his duty of care to fans. ", Hillsborough inquests: What you need to know, 14 questions the Hillsborough jury answered, Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. because Duckenfield was acquitted in 2019 of a charge of gross negligence manslaughter, . Lord Justice McCowan says he can see no fault in the coroner for cutting off the scope of the inquests at 3.15pm because he relied on medical evidence, and refuses to quash the verdicts. Labour MP Andy Burnhams address to the 20th anniversary memorial service is interrupted by chants of Justice for the 96. The passage of 30 years has presented challenges for everyone involved in the legal process, prosecution and defence. One called out in court I dont want your apology and several walked out. 91.195.53.16 David Duckenfield is charge with gross negligence manslaughter of 96 victims, while former Sheffield Wednesday club secretary Graham Mackrell is charged with two health and safety offences. Answering questions from Mansfield, Duckenfield said, however, that he did believe Liverpool fans turned up late and drunk to the match, and that Merseyside police failed to tell the South Yorkshire force that Liverpool fans were in the habit of doing that. Read about our approach to external linking. David Duckenfield can finally rest easily. Benjamin Myers QC told the jury his client had become "the focus of blame". Read about our approach to external linking. The city of Liverpool will today remember the 96 football fans who died at Hillsborough stadium, 30 years to the day since the disaster. avid Duckenfield can finally rest easily. The jury at the inquests returned a verdict of unlawful killing, reversing the 1990 ruling of accidental deaths. The FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest ends in tragedy as a crush at the Leppings Lane end of Sheffield Wednesdays Hillsborough stadium leads to the death of 96 Liverpool fans, with more than 750 people injured. Tom Davidson Assistant news editor. ", To the families he added: "It has now dawned on me what it means to you, and I am dreadfully sorry. The matchday commander at Hillsborough was. Meanwhile, the families of six victims appeal for a judicial review application to quash the inquest verdict. What is wrong is that it has taken 30 years to get to this point. Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield has been found not guilty of the gross negligence manslaughter of 95 Liverpool fans in the 1989 disaster. The matchday commander at Hillsborough was found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter charges pertaining to his role in the football disaster 30 years ago. Bereaved families are angered that the inquests cannot consider the emergency response after that point, and an accidental death verdict is returned on 26 March 1991. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. But ultimately the buck stops with me., Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. The agony of the families of the dead is unimaginable. The citys council cancelled a planned outdoor commemoration event and instead will light 96 lanterns on the steps of St Georges Hall. News. It was not opened on orders from the police control box but by police in the area to eject a fan. Christine Burke tearfully spoke from the gallery after the verdict was delivered and said that the 96 were unlawfully killed and she wants to know who is responsible, reports the Liverpool Echo. Ninety-six men, women and children died following the crush on the terrace but, under the law at the time, there can be no prosecution for the death of the 96th victim Tony Bland as he died more than a year and a day after the disaster. He was. He described the policing outside the Leppings Lane turnstiles, where Duckenfield accepted the South Yorkshire police lost control at 2:40pm, as non-existent or shambolic at best. A jury failed to reach a verdict in the case of David Duckenfield, the former South Yorkshire police chief superintendent and match commander on the day of the Hillsborough disaster. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. david duckenfield cycling david duckenfield cycling. He said this as. A second juror is discharged on 19 November after suffering a bereavement, leaving a jury of seven women and three men to decide the case. And 30 years means many people, especially families, have had to constantly relive their terrible experience.". Mr Duckenfield said that, in the pressure of the day, he froze and did not consider the consequences of his actions. Despite having a greater following than Nottingham Forest, Liverpools supporters were allocated the smaller end of the stadium, Leppings Lane, so that their route would not bring them into contact with Forest fans arriving from the south. "It is right that an impartial and thorough investigation was carried out, and it is right that a jury was asked to make a judgement of the facts. David Duckenfield, who as an inexperienced chief superintendent in the South Yorkshire police was in charge of the match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, admitted he had not told the whole truth about mistakes he made on the day, through a succession of legal inquiries since 1989. The prosecution in the case alleged Duckenfield, 75, had a 'personal responsibility' for what happened at the match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on April 15 1989, where 96 men, women. He said this minutes after he - the man tasked with keeping those people safe - had ordered for exit gates to be opened. Addressing the families in the court he said: It has now dawned on me what it means to you, and I am dreadfully sorry.. The former match commander's solicitor, Ian Lewis, said: "David is of course relieved that the jury has found him not guilty, however his thoughts and sympathies remain with the families of those who lost their loved ones. "I would like to know who is responsible for my father's death because someone is.". Video, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story, Reaction as David Duckenfield is cleared of manslaughter, argued the case against him was "deeply unfair", Harry and Meghan told to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, Rare Jurassic-era bug found at Arkansas Walmart, Dozens of girls treated after new Iran poisonings, China and Belarus call for peace in Ukraine, Prince Andrew offered Frogmore Cottage - reports, Beer and wine sales in Canada fall to all-time low, Ed Sheeran says wife developed tumour in pregnancy, Havana Syndrome unlikely to have hostile cause - US. He acknowledged that even after he said he realised, at 3:04pm on the day, that he was facing a medical emergency not an incident of disorder, he called for police dogs to come to the ground, not ambulances. The acquittal of Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield has caused shock and anger after a 30-year campaign for criminal accountability for the disaster. That cowardly deceit set the tone for everything that followed. Get email updates with the day's biggest stories. Mr Duckenfield, of Ferndown, Dorset, was cleared after a seven-week retrial at Preston Crown Court. Visit our corporate site www.futureplc.com Future Publishing Limited, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. It was David Duckenfield, Preston Crown Court heard, who told FA chiefs fans had gained entry through a forced stadium gate before the crush on the terraces beyond. The verdict defies logic. Several people whose family members died at Hillsborough in 1989 walked out of the new inquests into the disaster as the former policeman who commanded the FA Cup semi-final tried to explain why he had not told the truth for 26 years, and apologised again to them. Duckenfields acquittal underlines that no one has been held responsible for Hillsborough. Debate about Hillsborough should not be about football or the city of Liverpool; this is a matter of civic safety that has implications for everyone in British society. A police chief told a "wicked lie" by suggesting Liverpool fans forced open a gate ahead of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, the inquests heard. About 45 family members watched the verdict from the Cunard building in Liverpool, where the trial was screened. But he remains a liar whose claims caused hurt, anger and despair. At the hearings he accepted he should have taken steps to close the tunnel to the central pens after ordering the opening of the exit gate. He said footage of a mother having to cuddle her dead child on the dirty floor of the Hillsborough gymnasium was the most moving thing he had ever seen, and that it had shown him "what it means to a mother to lose a loved one". After reviewing 450,000 documents, the Hillsborough Independent Panel publishes a report highlighting police failings and the alleged campaign to blame Liverpool supporters for the disaster. Minimal treatment would have saved many of the victims. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. The Crown Prosecution Service decides that following consideration of all the evidence and documentation, there is no evidence to justify any criminal proceedings against South Yorkshire Police officers, Sheffield Wednesday FC, Sheffield City Council or Eastwoods the structural engineering firm that designed the pens. 2.52pm: After a third request to open the gates from Supt Marshall - who this time says there is a risk of injury or death if it is not done - Duckenfield orders them to be opened. Around 2,000 fans enter, many heading down a central tunnel and into already busy terrace pens, leading to the tragic crush. Why should anyone care about Hillsborough? The only effective way to ensure this sort of scenario is not repeated is accountability. Who has been left to carry the weight and pain of the disaster? The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) find there is sufficient evidence to charge them with neglect of duty but Mr Duckenfield is on sick leave during the process, and retires on medical grounds in November 1991. lifts the historic stay of further prosecution on Mr Duckenfield, fails to reach a verdict on the charges against Mr Duckenfield. Those systems failed on 15 April, 1989, and no one will ever take responsibility for that failure. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. At that point, Duckenfield gave the command to open another gate to the stadium and about 2,000 fans then made their way into the ground. Weakest since 2012: UK house price average falls to 257,406. Mr Duckenfields retrial starts at Preston Crown Court. Jurors hear how a PCs account of the disaster was changed to remove criticisms of police, but notes about drunk fans were kept in. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The crown's case was that the Chief Superintendent's failings were so extraordinary that they met that test. But his acquittal does not undo his shameful lie. Duckenfield retires on medical grounds, suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Sheffield Wednesday's former club secretary Graham Mackrell was found guilty of a health and safety offence in May 2019. Former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie apologises for the papers 1989 front page. The inquest jury concludes that the 96 victims were unlawfully killed and that Liverpool fans behaviour did not contribute to the crush. The jury did, however, reach a majority verdict to convict Graham Mackrell, Sheffield Wednesdays then-secretary and safety officer, of failing to take reasonable care of Liverpool supporters safety, by allocating only seven turnstiles for the 10,100 people. Duckenfield had agreed earlier that he had not acted as a reasonably competent match commander on the day, due to the mistakes he made. The former chief superintendent of South Yorkshire police, David Duckenfield, leaves after giving evidence to the Hillsborough inquest in Warrington. When all Hillsborough legal proceedings are concluded we should, as a society, take time to consider these matters and learn lessons. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. The findings heavily criticise the police operation, stadium layout and design, and local ambulance service. That a publicly funded authority can lawfully withhold information from a public inquiry charged with finding out why 96 people died at a football match, in order to ensure that it never happened again or that a solicitor can advise such a withholding, without sanction of any sort, may be a matter which should be subject to scrutiny.. So ashamed, embarrassed, distressed that at a later boardroom meeting of officials he failed to correct his lie - with one inquest witness claiming he actually repeated it. Video, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story, Harry and Meghan told to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, Dozens of girls treated after new Iran poisonings, Rare Jurassic-era bug found at Arkansas Walmart, Ed Sheeran says wife developed tumour in pregnancy, China and Belarus call for peace in Ukraine, Covid origin likely China lab incident - FBI chief, Man survives 31 days in jungle by eating worms, Havana Syndrome unlikely to have hostile cause - US. As the families continue to campaign, ITV screens a drama about the disaster written by Jimmy McGovern. Verdict of unlawful killing, reversing the 1990 ruling of accidental deaths box but by police the. Way to ensure this sort of scenario is not responsible for the match at Sheffield Wednesdays stadium with. 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