The then Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) concludes that there is no new evidence as alleged by the HFSG and their legal representatives, and therefore no grounds for reopening the police investigation into the Hillsborough disaster. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. lifts the historic stay of further prosecution on Mr Duckenfield, fails to reach a verdict on the charges against Mr Duckenfield. Ch Supt Duckenfield reacted to the build-up of supporters outside the ground by ordering the gates to be opened before the game between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. David Conn. Hillsboroughs final victim, 22-year-old Tony Bland, dies after being taken off life support, pushing the death toll up to 96. 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. By November 1991, he was medically retired from South Yorkshire Police on a full pension, two years after being suspended from duty. What happened in Sheffield was beyond horrific. The jury was shown pictures of fans in the Leppings Lane end of the stadium as the disaster unfolded, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. The trial against retired Ch Supt Donald Denton, 83, retired Det Ch Insp Alan Foster, 74, and former solicitor Peter Metcalf, 71, collapses. The ruling states that all the victims were dead by 3.15pm. After sitting for 31 days, the Taylor Inquiry publishes an interim report concluding that the main reason for the disaster was the failure of police control and criticising South Yorkshire Police for blaming Liverpool supporters. Duckenfields ordeal ended at Preston crown court on Thursday. "With all due respect, my lord, 96 people were found unlawfully killed to a criminal standard," she said. 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. because Duckenfield was acquitted in 2019 of a charge of gross negligence manslaughter, . Liverpool FC said it shared "the reactions and frustrations by the families today and those affected by the Hillsborough tragedy". The Crown Prosecution Service announces that six people are to be charged with offences in relation to the disaster Mr Duckenfield is charged with manslaughter and former Sheffield Wednesday club secretary Graham Mackrell for health and safety offences. Former Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield, arriving at Preston Crown court for the start of his retrial for the manslaughter by gross negligence of 95 Liverpool supporters at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final. Last year it was confirmed no-one else would face prosecution for the unlawful killing of 96 men, women and children. They knew the law would let them down. Duckenfield added that he had no idea what motivated him to blame other people for his mistakes. It is hard to comprehend how the relatives have maintained their dignity in the face of numerous disappointments and crass treatment from the authorities. Recipe: Ayurvedic Jewish penicillin by Dr Rupy Aujla, Sunaks Brexit deal explained in five points, Messi vs. Ronaldo: all-time goals and statistics. That sets the bar very high for the prosecution. 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. The new Labour government orders a review of the evidence by Lord Justice Stuart-Smith. "We firmly believe that we have done everything in our power to do right by our Steven and we walk away from this case with our dignity and our heads held high.". The new Labour governments home secretary, Jack Straw, notes the discussions but said public concern will not be allayed by a reassurance from the Home Office that there is no new evidence and proposes an independent review. 2023 BBC. Lord Justice Taylor concludes that the most fans were not drunk, nor even the worse for drink and highlights contributing factors including opening exit gates to allow fans into the ground and failing to delay kick-off. Duckenfield stood trial earlier this year but the jury was discharged after failing to reach a verdict and a retrial was ordered. Asked by Mansfield why he had chosen to remain silent for 26 years, Duckenfield said that he had been prompted to finally tell the whole truth after the publication of the report by the Hillsborough Independent Panel in 2012 and a television programme he had seen about the disasters effect on the families. Ben Myers QC made the claim in his. Posted on 26 Feb in avondale redbud problems. The farriers prosecution for perverting the course of justice is found not to be in the public interest and there is insufficient evidence against the police officer. Allen told the inquests last week that he had policed hundreds of football matches and attended thousands as a Liverpool fan. The Crown Prosecution Service has said it will seek a retrial, which Duckenfield is expected to oppose, at a hearing scheduled for 24 June. "Over this period, I have had to come to terms with reality, and that is why, over the period, you might say I dug my head in the sand, didn't admit things to myself, but I am now very much older, very much wiser, and very much more understanding of the events of the day and have decided to tell the whole truth. Expert policing witness Douglas Hopkins said this was a potential warning sign. And a jury of seven women and three men agreed with him when they cleared the 75-year-old of gross negligence manslaughter. Mansfield said: But this isnt what happened on this day, this wasnt fans turning up late, having got into a drunken state, was it?, Duckenfield responded: I will have to disagree., Pressed on whether he had received any information in the buildup to the match that fans turned up drunk and late, he replied: I cant recall, sir.. It was even more dispiriting to hear the defence barrister, Benjamin Myers QC, recycle all the rancid myths that grew out of Duckenfields dissembling: that fans turned up late, alcohol was a factor and supporters ignored police instructions. The inquest jury finds that Hillsboroughs 96 victims were unlawfully killed and that Liverpool fans were not responsible for the disaster. The former chief superintendent of South Yorkshire police, David Duckenfield, leaves after giving evidence to the Hillsborough inquest in Warrington. Mr Duckenfield's defence counsel argued the case against him was "deeply unfair". VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Sake brewers toast big rise in global sales, The Indian-American CEO who wants to be US president, 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. Mr Duckenfields retrial starts at Preston Crown Court. 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. It also must be proved that it could be foreseen the breach would give rise to an obvious risk of death, that it caused the death and - most challenging of all - that the circumstances of the breach were so reprehensible as to justify the conclusion that it amounted to gross negligence and required criminal sanction. The acquittal was not a shock. 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. What is wrong is that it has taken 30 years to get to this point. 2023 BBC. When asked if his "negligence" caused the disaster he told the inquest: "I wouldn't use the word negligence sir. One of the many tragedies of the Hillsborough disaster is the first explanation for what claimed the lives of those men, women and children was a suggestion it was Liverpool supporters who were responsible. The decision is taken to withdraw feeding and hydration from 96th victim Tony Bland, who has remained in a persistent vegetative state since receiving his injuries at Hillsborough. The scrutiny goes ahead but in February 1998, Lord Justice Stuart-Smith rejects grounds for quashing the accidental death verdicts or bringing prosecutions. Jurors hear how a PCs account of the disaster was changed to remove criticisms of police, but notes about drunk fans were kept in. Sue Hemming, the CPS director of legal services, reacts to the decision by issuing a scathing statement. Hillsborough disaster: Timeline of the day, The overcrowding at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough, Supporters are crushed against the barrier as disaster strikes before the FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest played at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, 1989, Severe overcrowding resulted in 96 Liverpool fans losing their lives, Advertising boards which were used as stretchers, are piled up following the overcrowding at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough, A young Liverpool fan sat pitch side, following the events of the Hillsborough disaster, 1989, Liverpool memorial service was attended by 3,000 people, Liverpool footballer Dalglish and his wife Marina at the memorial service in the catholic Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool, in memory of those killed in the Hillsborough disaster, 1989, Floral tributes are left by the goal at Hillsborough, April 1989, John Aldridge laying a floral tribute, Anfield, 1989, A woman being comforted as she kneels by floral tributes at the gate of the Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield, the morning after ninety six Liverpool fans died from injuries suffered in the fatal crush at the ground, Former chief superintendent David Duckenfield in 1989, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher tours Hillsborough stadium with David Duckenfield (on her left) after the Hillsborough football disaster, Fans gathering at Anfield for a ceremony of remembrance following the Hillsborough disaster on 22 April 1989, Diana Princess of Wales talks to Liverpool fan and Hillsborough survivor Ian Clarke, 16 in Sheffield Hospital, Sadness engulfs Anfield and the Kop Stand as many hundreds of thousands of tributes are laid in memory of the 96 people who died at Hillsborough Stadium on 15 April 1989 at the FA Cup Semi Final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, Liverpool Manager Kenny Dalglish watches in anguish as dead and injured Liverpool fans are carried away in ambulances (Getty Images), Supporters pay their respects after the Hillsborough disaster at Anfield in Liverpool, 1989, People help soccer fans at Hillsborough stadium after support railings collapsed during a match between Liverpool and Nottingham forest, Policemen rescue soccer fans at Hillsborough stadium after support railings collapsed during a match between Liverpool and Nottingham forest, Court shows layout of stadium in David Duckenfield's Hillsborough trial, Tony Bland was left severely brain-damaged following the Hillsborough football disaster in 1989, Cherie Blair looks on as her husband addresses the nation as prime minister in 1997, Labour culture minister Andy Burnham was reduced to mute nodding when his speech was drowned out by a chant of 'Justice for the 96', Relatives react after the jury delivered its verdict at the new inquests into the Hillsborough disaster, in Warrington, Relatives of those who died in the Hillsborough disaster celebrate outside the Hillsborough Inquest in Warrington, Margaret Aspinall holds a banner after the jury delivered its verdict at the new inquests into the Hillsborough disaster, Relatives of the Hillsborough sing 'You'll never walk alone' as they depart Birchwood Park after hearing the conclusions of the Hillsborough inquest, Relatives of Hillsborough victims show their emotions as they depart Birchwood Park after hearing the conclusions of the Hillsborough inquest, Relatives of Hillsborough victims hug as they depart Birchwood Park after hearing the conclusions of the Hillsborough inquest in Warrington, Margaret Aspinall (C), whose son James died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, makes a statement following the conclusion of the inquest into the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, Relatives sing "You'll never walk alone" after the jury delivered its verdict at the new inquests into the Hillsborough disaster, Relatives of Hillsborough victims hold up banners as they depart Birchwood Park after hearing the conclusions of the Hillsborough inquest, Donna Miller (R), sister of Hillsborough victim Paul Carlile holds up a banner as relatives depart Birchwood Park after hearing the conclusions of the Hillsborough inquest in Warrington, David Duckenfield, match-day police commander at the Hillsborough football stadium disaster, arrives at court in Preston for his first trial in January, Retrial follows two sets of inquests, private prosecutions and civil proceedings over the disaster, Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, How Hillsborough prosecution case against David Duckenfield fell apart, David Duckenfield found not guilty over Hillsborough disaster, Hillsborough: Former Sheffield Wednesday club secretary fined 6,500, Hillsborough families react to inquest conclusions, Timeline of Hillsborough families 30-year battle for justice. 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