Hillsborough - The Disaster, the Cover-up..

Hillsborough - The Disaster, the Cover-up..

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Hey all,

The name Hillsborough is two thing's. Firstly, It's a football stadium belonging to South Yorkshire's very own Sheffield Wednesday F.C., a team that currently plays in the English Championship league, one league belong the Premiership. Secondly, It's the name given to what's widely regarded as the single most tragic footballing incident ever recorded right here in the United Kingdom - And It happened on the 15th of April, 1989 during a League Cup semi-final game between Liverpool F.C. and Nottingham Forest which just so happened to be held at the Hillsborough stadium, which is actually around a half an hour's drive from my own home.

It was common practice at the time for games such as this to be held at a neutral venue, and this was not the first time both teams had met. In fact, a year previously, both Liverpool and Nottingham had faced each other at the very same stage of the tournament at this very same stadium and all without any real incident to report. This time however, in the now infamous 1989 incident, thing's took a massive turn for the worst.

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(The scenes and aftermath of Hillsborough)

Prior to the game, as always, thousands of fans were outside waiting to get in. A difference between this incident and the one before it was also the inclusion of Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield, someone with no real previous experience of Crowd control of this magnitude, and It certainly showed. In fact, over the years a lot of the blame for the disaster had rested firmly on his shoulders. After the tragic incident had taken place there began what was also hailed as quite possibly the biggest ever cover-up in English history, far exceeding any political scandal there or now, and It started right there with Duckenfield immediately lying to his superiors and blaming "drunken fans" for what would happen.

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(The scenes outside the Leppings Lane End - Fans were not diverted anywhere else)

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(The small Tunnel fans were being led into, despite full stands)

In reality nothing could be further from the truth as revealed a few months ago now in September after an Independent report bringing all the facts to light for the first time since the 1980's when the full story of the Hillsborough disaster could be told. In 1989 however English football wasn't seen as the beautiful game we seem to know and love it as today. English football was still being affected quite heavily by Hooliganism, which of course is still present to today just nowhere near the scale it once was in the 70's and 80's, and in an effort to quell it some, as well as avoid anymore pitch invasions, high steel fencing had been placed in most stadiums around the country. Sadly, thanks to these measures at Hillsborough, 96 fans would eventually be killed and almost 800 would be injured on this fateful day - the Hillsborough disaster as we know it.

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(Crushed fans make a desperate bid for escape)

The game was scheduled to kick-off at 3pm, with fans obviously arriving a short while before this, although many being delayed due to public transport. Due to the sheer amount of pressure building outside the Leppings Lane End (The West stand of the stadium), and despite the already heavily crowded stand, Duckenfield decided to, instead of delaying the game a short while so order could be restored as had been the procedure at other games, and despite some protests from worried fans about this decision outside, he decided to open up a large exit gate to allow a massive increase of fans to enter the stadium, all of which would have to travel through a small tunnel, this being the only directed way into the stand. With the massive influx of fans a crush inside the stand ensued with no escape for fans already inside, some being forced to seek help from above.

Half an hour prior to kick off was when the majority of fans were outside the stand as highlighted below. Due to inadequate turnstiles, and only one tunnel leading into the stadium, movement outside was slow already causing a minor crush.

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Despite the pens already being full, and already breaching safety standards, fans were still being ushered in this way with reports from fans that there was no hints from police for them to enter the stadium any other way or that there was any problem inside.

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Due to the problems with the turnstiles, Daniel Duckenfield made the decision to controversially open up Gate C in an effort to get fans inside the stadium prior to kick-off.

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Due to the sudden massive increase of fans eager to make it in prior to kick-off, those who were already present were forced forward into the fencing placed there to stop fans getting onto the pitch - thus being crushed.

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The match kicks off in time, but the problems in the stand are paramount. Approximately 5 minutes into the game a crush barrier collapses causing further chaos. The game is abandoned at 6 minutes in.

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By this time, fans are in serious trouble, some already crushed to death, and the game is abandoned after a police officer runs onto the pitch and forces the referee to stop the game.

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The game unfortunately was being played live on television in front of millions of fans unable to make the trip to the game and Initially, in a cruel twist of fate, they were forced to watch their loved one's pushed back into the stands by police, not fully realizing what was taking place at the time, and whom initially seemed to believe a pitch invasion was taking place did their best to keep fans inside the pens. Eventually however, with-in the first 5 minutes of the game to be exact, they realized not was all well at all. A policeman even ran onto the pitch desperately trying to get the referee to stop the game. Despite this, fans were still being crushed in the stands and many were unable to escape at all due to the sheer amount of pressure being forced upon them by unwitting fans behind - many at the front were unable to move, unable to breath, suffered broken bones, and many were suffering a slow and heavily painful death.

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Many fans were forced to climb the fencing, one actually designed to stop fans climbing over, before eventually another small gate at the front of the stand was opened allowing fans to leave and actually enter onto the pitch, and after this part of the gates were cut with specialized equipment allowing further fans to finally spill out onto the pitch and away from the sheer horrific crush which was taking place.

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In a desperate bid to help the injured at the time, hundreds of fellow spectators at the game could even be seen ripping off advertising boards from around the stadium and actually carrying the injured and dying, as well as the already dead, the entire length of the pitch to relative safety, a scene vastly different to what was reported by police at the time. This, for example, was the front cover of the Sun newspaper, the now infamous truth front page courtesy of the sun, after being briefed by police officers, wrongly blaming victims and spreading vicious, baseless lies:

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This year however the real truth about the disaster was revealed for all the world to see, and just yesterday now we've seen the latest big breakthrough, of which I'll discuss in my next post. I'll also look to discuss much of the cover-up, of which seems to involve our very own MP at the time, Margaret Thatcher, as well as many others in a high profile positions.

Thank you for reading this thread thus far, I hope you continue to do so..

The scenes, all being played out live on television, were truly horrific, and many of the survivors are known to have suffered vast trauma from the incident, some physical, all mental to some degree or another. Furiously though, despite 94 fans dying that day, a further 2 dying from their injuries at a later time, initial reports from police claimed that the incident was a direct cause of drunken fans, this the beginning of the greatest cover up in English history. These were lies and they were lies that were further ingrained on the public in the now infamous Truth article by the sun newspaper posted above, something they later apologized for as shown below.

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Following the disaster, Dr Stefan Popper, coronor, ordered alcohol tests to be done on the victims and repeated questioning of family members on the state of their loved one's by police, and whether they drank often, were conducted. Alcohol testing by Popper was even done on those underage, the youngest victim of which, cousin of England captain Stephen Gerrard, was ten years old at the time of his death. As well as this, Popper during his investigation flat out refused to accept information about the well being of fans that came about after 3:15pm - the infamous 3:15 cut off point.

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Despite this though, evidence is overwhelming that many fans were still more than alive after this point and could've undoubtedly been saved but due to the cut off point no evidence at the time was considered and thus the initial ruling was that all fans who had died did so mainly because of themselves, not the police.

Dr Popper had refused to take evidence collected after 3.15pm on the day of the tragedy. The match had been abandoned at 3.06pm as the extent of the crushing in the ground became apparent.

Imposing the 3.15pm cut-off had, the report said, “led to the mistaken belief that an effective emergency services intervention could not have saved lives”. Evidence now uncovered shows that a number of victims had survived beyond that time; half could have been saved.

The report said there was “no rationale” for the coroner’s decision to take blood alcohol level readings from every victim, including children. Dr Popper had believed checking blood alcohol levels was “a justifiable investigation” and that the age of some victims — the youngest to die was England captain Steven Gerrard’s 10-year-old cousin Jon-Paul Gilhooley — was “no guarantee that alcohol is not ingested”

(Source)

The original claim was that the victims were unconscious within seconds and completely dead before the cut off point and any time beyond that saving victims would've been impossible. Postmortem reports however found that approximately 28 people did not have obstruction of blood circulation and 31 had evidence of heart and lungs continuing to function after the crush. Of the 96 that died, a total of 41 should have lived.

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(Tributes to the fallen fans

Following the tragic disaster, an Inquiry was officially set up and ran by Lord Justice Taylor, this being quite naturally known as the Taylor Inquiry. It was set to investigate the incident and "To inquire into the events at Sheffield Wednesday Football ground on 15th April 1989 and to make recommendations about the needs of crowd control and safety at sports events". The inquiry, which was held in Sheffield, began on the 15th of May, 1989 and lasted thirty-one days.

The official Taylor Report recommended that stadiums divert away from using concrete, standing terraces, which was done, and instead stadiums should adopt seating. Due to this stadiums can also keep a better track on who is entering the stadium and has proven to help stop violence inside stadiums. Not to forget the safety factor that comes with seating as opposed to standing terraces.

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(A traumatized fan following the disaster)

Investigating Hillsborough the Taylor Report also concluded that the main cause of the disaster was indeed police control not alcohol consumption by fans and claims they were also attempting to enter the stand without tickets was false.

The senior police officers said it had never happened before so there was no reason to foresee it. In fact, the only two previous occasions when the Leppings Lane terraces had been used to fill the whole of the north and west sides of the ground were at the two semi-finals, in 1987 and 1988. In 1987, the match was on a Sunday scheduled for 12 noon, and kick-off was postponed for a quarter of an hour because of late arrivals.

The need to open gate C was due to dangerous congestion at the turnstiles. That occurred because, as both Club and police should have realised, the turnstile area could not easily cope with the large numbers demanded of it unless they arrived steadily over a lengthy period. The Operational Order and police tactics on the day failed to provide for controlling a concentrated arrival of large numbers should that occur in a short period. That it might so occur was foreseeable and it did.

As a result of the inadequate number of turnstiles, it has been estimated that it would have taken until 3:40 pm to get all ticket holders into the Leppings Lane end had an exit gate not been opened. Gate C was opened to let fans in, but the number of fans entering the terrace was not thought to have been more than the capacity of the entire standing area. Once inside the stadium, most fans entering the terraces headed for the central pens 3 and 4, as directed by a large sign above the access tunnel.

Since pens 3 and 4 were full by 2.50 pm, the tunnel should have been closed off whether gate C was to be opened or not. ... [I]t should have been clear in the control room where there was a view of the pens and of the crowd at the turnstiles that the tunnel had to be closed. If orders had been given to that effect when gate C was opened, the fans could have been directed to the empty areas of the wings and this disaster could still have been avoided. Failure to give that order was a blunder of the first magnitude

(Source)

Despite the investigators finding and proving that police were indeed responsible for the disaster taking place, they still were not entirely truthful and forthright with their investigations and over the years many others, particularly families of the victims, have felt this and have called for a wholly independent investigation. This year they got it thanks to the fantastic work of the families who refused to give up and were determined to know the truth about how their loved one's had perished and on the 12th of September, the official report posted their 450,000 pages of material shocking the nation with proof of a massive cover up leading to the top. The full report can be found here.

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Hillsborough Independent Panel

Foreward

Report Summary

Part 1: Hillsborough: 'what was known'

Part 2: Hillsborough: 'what is added to public understanding'

- Chapter 1: 1981-1989: unheeded warnings, the seeds of disaster
- Chapter 2: The 'moment' of 1989
- Chapter 3: Custom, practice, roles, responsibilities
- Chapter 4: Emergency response and aftermath: 'routinely requested to attend'
- Chapter 5: Medical evidence: the testimony of the dead
- Chapter 6: Parallel investigations
- Chapter 7: Civil litigation
- Chapter 8: The Coroner's inquiry: from the immediate aftermath to the preliminary hearings
- Chapter 9: The generic hearing, Judicial Review and continuing controversies
- Chapter 10: The 3.15pm cut-off
- Chapter 11: Review and alteration of statements
- Chapter 12: Behind the headlines: the origins, promotion and reproduction of unsubstantiated allegations

Part 3: The Permanent Archive for the Hillsborough Disaster

Appendices

- Appendix 1: Hillsborough Independent Panel terms of reference
- Appendix 2: Disclosure process
- Appendix 3: Research process and method
- Appendix 4: Retained tissue following post mortem examination
- Appendix 5: Freedom of information and Parliamentary debate

So, what do we now know about Hillsborough?

We now that Police carried out criminal checks on those who perished, we know they did alcohol tests on those who perished, even those as young as ten, we know that they tried to shift blame onto the victims and were helped in doing so, we know that approximately 41 out of the 96 victims could have been saved - that's almost half of all victims, and their families wouldn't have had to suffer like they did - we know that many survived after the cut off point, we know that that was no evidence of an increase of drunk fans and or aggressive behavior, we now there was no order outside, we know that the infamous truth front page of the sun is false and was a lie, we know that Margaret Thatcher expressed concern that the first inquiry into the disaster contained 'devastating criticism of the police'...

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(Those primarily to blame)

..We also know that of the 164 police statements, 164 of them had been doctored to remove evidence against police actions. Crucially we know there was a cover up, one hailed as the greatest in our history in this country. And It was done in the most cruel way, in an attempt to blame victims for their own deaths and save the reputations of those who caused the deaths in the first place. Disgusting, and disgusting of the highest degree.

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A terrible, terrible injustice was done that day. To say the least. It's only thanks to the families of those victims that we know the real truth today, the truth being there was a massive cover up for multiple decades, through multiple governments, despite almost 100 deaths just to save the reputation of a few higher up the pay roll.

Yesterday, we even saw a breakthrough in the Hillsboroguh case, something that will come to great relief of the families and after all those years I for one say this.. Finally.

Hillsborough inquests date set for next week

Families of the victims have campaigned for years to have the original 1991 accidental death verdicts overturned.

Mr Grieve said the main basis for the move was new medical evidence, made public in the Hillsborough Independent Panel report in September.

He said the alteration of evidence by the police and other emergency services was also a supporting factor, along with stadium safety.

'Deflect blame'

The application is due to be heard on 19 December by the Chief Justice Lord Judge and two other judges in London - subject to any applications by "interested parties" to adjourn.

Let us all pray that justice is indeed finally done.

Thank you for taking the time out to read this thread. I'd like to hear your thoughts on everything discussed here...

Wonderful thread RA

The amount of work you put into this thread, to those who don't think about such things, well... the time / effort you have put into this thread is awe inspiring.

Good job, time for me to dedicate at least 30 to 45 reading time, thanks man.



SS

very99x sad to see

reply to post by Rising Against


I was so passionate about this that on my 21st b/day. I drunk a bottle of tequila, ate the worm, had numerous flaming cocktails and then got arrested for being drunk and disorderly, resisting arrest and abusive language.

I don't remember most of it, except the resisting arrest (swan diving into the pavement being handcuffed lol)... anyway the Police Prosecutor read out in court all of the things I had said whilst in that state, out of 100 words, 90 of them were profanities and the last sentence read out was ...

"You bastages killed the soccer fans!"

If the exit doors had been opened, it wouldn't have happened. Oh just to add that I didn't plan to get drunk, but that happened 4 days before my 21st b/day party and I remember watching the footage and it was horrific. Just terrible.

Brilliant thread RA.
Extremely informative.

Far better than the one I started when the Hillsborough files were released
Have added this link in order to join the two up so we have a fuller picture of the events and what has happened in the last few months.

Excelent thread and something that is of major importance in many more ways than we think.
The cover up by TPTB and how they tried to make it look like the fans were the worst scum on earth has to be seen and known in order for those behind the curtain to be brought to justice.. including the media for running with the story as given to them by TPTB..

Truly horrific event.

It is always the same.

Any bureaucracy will continue to grow in size and power until checked by an outside force. Once established the primary aim of a bureaucracy is to protect itself and its growth at any cost. The truth being a cost. The second aim is to make life as easy as possible for themselves in spite of their stated mission. Lastly, no one should rock the boat!

Police force, Child Welfare, Education and all the rest follow the same path. They need to be disbanded and recreated every once in a while but that never happens.

Nice thread.

P

reply to post by Extralien


I'm glad to see you in this thread EA, genuinely I am. I remember in my research I actually came across your thread. It was a fine piece of work and undoubtedly contributed to getting the real Hillsborough story, not the fabricated one many know of, out there for all to see. For posting it a personal thank you from me to you.

I'm an Arsenal fan as well you see and I have no real ties to Liverpool FC, but I have to admit, writing up this thread was tough. The documentaries watched in particular was tough and I got choked up often. This incident really does affect all football fans, no doubt at all, and like many others out there, I know people who should've been at that game too. It's a tragedy of the highest degree and the cover up which took place in the aftermath.. well, to think that can happen and happen in that way is truly disgusting.

And to think the cover up which ensued lasted as long as it did, well, that's truly disappointing too. Justice has come out though and hopefully next week on the 19th the next big breakthrough is made. Personally though, the least we should see is those responsible brought to a trial, in my opinion. Duckenfield in particular.

reply to post by Rising Against


You're very welcome.
It's about all Ican do in the circumstances.

Personally, i detest football and the 'culture' of excessively payed players and the wars (over the years) amongst the fans.

But this event is important. It should never have happened.
To all those that died or were injured and their direct family, my heart felt feelings go out to you all.

An example must be made of those that were the corrupt agents behind the cover up and the sensational lies plastered over the press. This case must be used in a way that really hammers down just how far the 'state' will go in order to keep its self safe and in power.

Oddly enough, there is another event that has just come to the surface again.. that is to do with the involvement of 'agents of the state' in murder...

Sir Desmond de Silva's review confirmed that agents of the state were involved in the 1989 killing and that it should have been prevented.

www.bbc.co.uk...

Maybe, once both cases are sorted out, the two could join sides and make a move TPTB and really open a few cans of whoop ass...

It disgusts me how the 'system' has its way of dealing with things, but you and I get banged up for the slightest thing..

Something has to happen and things must change.

May all the victims rest in peace
May the guilty have many a sleepless night..

Oh, and for anyone else interested in this case, and especially those who prefer video to text, here's some very interesting videos:

Hillsborough - The Search for Truth



Hillsborough Independent Panel - The Truth



Hillsborough, live news coverage of the day




Prime Minister David Cameron "I am Profoundly Sorry"

reply to post by Spike Spiegle


Thanks, as always, my friend.

I know you yourself are typing that from Canada and I know many others who may have read are also from North America so in writing this thread I'm not just aiming at the UK at all, I wanted to share the story of how corruption can happen at the very top with everyone here on ATS. A conspiracy occurred in the aftermath of Hillsborough, one that's thankfully been revealed for the world to see due to the work of those who've been fighting ever since their loved one's were lost that dreadful day.

Thank you for taking the time to write such an informative post that sets the record straight. I recall this incident quite well, as well as the "official" story.

It was truly a difficult read, and I welled up throughout. You're generous to not just sacrifice your time, but the sense of quiet peace we all have when not focusing on the most vile of humanity. You deserve a massage and a whiskey.

in 1989, here in the states, i somewhat remember hearing about what happened, but your post brings a lot of clarity to this tragic event. thanks for the time spent in organizing and producing this thread. it is a cautionary tale of what can go wrong, that can be applicable some 25 years later if people are not vigilant.

reply to post by chasingbrahman


Thanks and don't worry, you're not the only one. It was a tough one to write up personally. It's a very emotional story and really, It's not something that should have ever happened. It was, as we all now know, completely avoidable. Every single football fan in the UK is affected by this, regardless of what team you support. To feel nothing is not being alive.

Thanks for your thoughts also, jimmyx.

Thank you for taking the time to put all of this together. What a terrible situation to have to go through. I couldn't imagine having to go through that. I don't remember, or don't think I knew that this had happened. I'm in the United States, and would have been in high school around that time. I'm happy to see that the truth has finally come out. I hope that these families will finally get the justice that they deserve. My thoughts are with them all.

reply to post by CatrionaBeldame


You can be almost sure that someone will get some form of punishment, yet it may not turn out to be the people that really deserve it and it may not be the full sentence they truly deserve either.

we've seen it all too often where those in places of power get away scot free, almost, and those who suffered spend the rest of their lives in constant heart ache.

If only ALL the football fans got together and showed their anger at the cover up..
If only all those fans focussed their energy at getting justice for the 96...

if only...

maybe then we might see some towers fall and ensure proper deserved justice was dished out.

Let's also not forget what's taking place just next week now:

A HEARING to decide whether the original discredited Hillsborough inquest verdicts should be overturned will be held in the High Court before Christmas.

The Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge and two other judges will consider the application by Attorney General Dominic Grieve at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Wednesday December 19.

* Read More - Anne Williams: I believe I'll live to see justice

It is not yet known how soon the inquests could follow if the bid is successful.

Earlier this week Hillsborough families called for the hearing to take place this year.

Today they said they welcomed the news that by this time next week they should know whether the fight for justice will take another crucial step.

(Source)

Not forgetting that after the real truth has finally come out, there's been endless calls for those responsible, particularly Duckenfield, to face some sort of punishment. These calls can go ignored for only so long. I like to think we'll see true justice occur in at least my lifetime. But, as they say, time will tell.

reply to post by Thurisaz


Well, that's truly unfortunate.

In the aftermath It seemed as though a lot of fans were despised by the public, solely due to the lies spread - the sun newspaper really helped out in that respect - and It's almost as if every Liverpool, United fan, in general football fan was just thrown into the same crowd. At the time hooliganism was still a major problem after all. It's a sad part of our British footballing history, no doubt.

Also I have to point out as well, this is ATS after all. ...

If the exit doors had been opened, it wouldn't have happened.

The opening of Exit Door C ordered by Duckenfield was the direct cause of the incident taking place.

This was a false flag event and was used to get the stadiums revamped so they could put the metal conductors up in the air for haarp utilising tesla's wardenclyffe transfer system.

Extremely well done. I had personally never heard of this tragedy, and I hope my being an American is a decent-enough exscuse for my ignorance. You present the facts in an easy-to-follow and complete manner. If I had to criticise at all, I would just point out that your report seems very convinced of your own conclusions, and doesn't seem to offer any consideration for the opposition. You convinced me of WHAT happened, but kind of glazed over HOW the cover-up was arranged and WHY so much effort went into protecting what seems to be a handfull of inept officials. More and more people seems to have gambled their careers and names on shielding a couple of dirtbags. Why?