Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. The CPS announces that all charges against Sir Norman Bettison are being dropped because there is insufficient evidence for a realistic chance of a conviction, which is the test for all prosecutions. BBC News Inquests into the 96 football fans who died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster have concluded they were unlawfully killed. He was initially accused of telling lies about the culpability of fans and his role in the event, reports the BBC. "Everybody knew the truth, the fans and police knew the truth that we'd opened the gates," he said. 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. VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. The Hillsborough Family Support Group mounts a private prosecution of Duckenfield and his deputy, superintendentBernard Murray, for manslaughter. The jury had a difficult and challenging task examining evidence going back decades and I respect their decision. 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. Visit our corporate site www.futureplc.com Future Publishing Limited, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. David Duckenfield had been appointed Chief Superintendent of the South Yorkshire Police just 19 days before the disaster. Minutes later Duckenfield ordered for that gate to be opened again. That cowardly deceit set the tone for everything that followed. The jury found match commander - former Ch Supt David. Only one ambulance made it onto the pitch; 42 remained in a queue outside. The jury found match commander - former Ch Supt David Duckenfield - "responsible for manslaughter by gross negligence" due to a breach of his duty of care. He was asked whether he thought over the last 26 years about the bereaved families, who according to their barrister, Rajiv Menon QC waged a courageous and unrelenting campaign that culminated in 2012 with the quashing of the first inquests. Following judicial advice, the PCA decides against proceeding against Mr Murray alone. Duckenfield stood trial earlier this year but the jury was discharged after failing to reach a verdict and a retrial was ordered. Read about our approach to external linking. The former South Yorkshire Police chief superintendent, 75, was in charge of the FA Cup semi-final in which 96 fans were fatally injured. The man who caused so much pain has escaped the consequences. inquest verdicts brought by six representative families. David Duckenfield is not a criminal, a jury has decided. The trial of Mr Duckenfield and Mr Mackrell starts at Preston Crown Court. 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. They applied to have the case against them dismissed after a month of evidence in a trial that had been awaited for decades by the victims families. 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. "With all due respect, my lord, 96 people were found unlawfully killed to a criminal standard," she said. 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. ", To the families he added: "It has now dawned on me what it means to you, and I am dreadfully sorry. Mr Mackrell is fined 6,500 for the offence, sparking outrage from victims relatives who called the penalty shameful. Read about our approach to external linking. For one teacher, it was a life well-lived. It was not opened on orders from the police control box but by police in the area to eject a fan. On 1 November, a juror is discharged after telling fellow jurors dickhead Duckenfield needs to die, but the judge rules that the trial can proceed. 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. But while his acquittal means he did not fail to a criminal standard, it does not mean he did not fail at all. By November 1991, he was medically retired from South Yorkshire Police on a full pension, two years after being suspended from duty. Hawara: 'What happened was horrific and barbaric'. Those systems failed on 15 April, 1989, and no one will ever take responsibility for that failure. Because of the length of time between the disaster and his death, the law does not allow Mr Duckenfield to be charged with Mr Blands manslaughter. 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. It also prompts calls for criminal action. 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. But his acquittal does not undo his shameful lie. Duckenfield said he had watched a video about the disaster, including footage of a mother having to cuddle her dead child on the dirty floor of the Hillsborough gymnasium, which the police used as a mortuary that day. The Sun newspaper publishes its infamous front page with the headline The Truth, blaming drunk Liverpool fans for the disaster and even accusing some of stealing from the dead and injured. "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. 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 funnel-shaped nature of the area meant that the congestion was hard to escape for those at the front, says the BBC. The former chief superintendent of South Yorkshire police, David Duckenfield, leaves after giving evidence to the Hillsborough inquest in Warrington. Read about our approach to external linking. 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. erath county rant and rave; springfield, mo jail inmates; essex county hospital center jobs; blanching vs non blanching erythema; star trek next generation cast salaries The ruling states that all the victims were dead by 3.15pm. The matchday commander at Hillsborough was. It is true the same stadium exit gate he ordered to be opened at 2.52pm opened minutes earlier without his instruction. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. 2023 BBC. There were gasps in court as the seven women and three men on the jury returned the verdict, following 13 hours and 43 minutes of discussions. Tom Davidson Assistant news editor. But despite it finding that police evidence to the Taylor inquiry had been doctored, home secretary Jack Straw rules out a new inquiry. The prosecution in the case alleged Duckenfield, 75, had a "personal responsibility" for what happened at the match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. There are renewed calls for a fresh inquest or public inquiry. 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. A Hillsborough charity music single, a version of He Aint Heavy Hes My Brother, is confirmed as Christmas Number One days later. A judge lifts the historic stay of further prosecution on Mr Duckenfield, allowing new proceedings to go ahead. David Duckenfield was police match commander at the Hillsborough disaster He went on trial for gross negligence manslaughter over the deaths of fans Following a retrial, he was cleared today . This is because he died more than a year and a day after his injuries were caused. Covid cut it short. The prosecution alleged Mr Duckenfield had a "personal responsibility" for what happened at the match. The inquests become controversial after Dr Stefan Popper limits their scope to events up to 3.15pm on the day of the disaster just nine minutes after the match was halted and excludes the witness evidence of two doctors inside the stadium. 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. 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.. Unlike Duckenfield, the families, survivors and those affected by Hillsborough cannot sleep easy. Sir Peter Openshaw, the judge, told the jury that the inquests findings which were not discussed in court were quite irrelevant. And 30 years means many people, especially families, have had to constantly relive their terrible experience.". Both . And despite the words of regret expressed in 2015, this included the resurrection of shameless claims about ticketless and late supporters. I did my very best on the day.". Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield has been found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter of 95 Liverpool supporters. The Taylor Report causes UK-wide changes to football stadiums, seeing fencing removed and standing terraces converted to seating areas at large venues. "But, as both counsel have advised you and I will now direct you, as you go about your duty you must put aside your emotions and sympathies, either for the bereaved families or indeed for Mr Duckenfield, and decide the case with a cold, calm and dispassionate review of the evidence that you have heard in court.". VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. There will be a service at the Anglican cathedral, and a minutes silence will be observed at 3.06pm the moment the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest was stopped as the scale of the disaster became apparent. 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, Duckenfield said. "He understands the public interest in this case, but would ask that his privacy and that of his family is respected, and will not be commenting further. A Liverpool fan, he was present at the Hillsborough disaster, The not-guilty verdict over the Hillsborough tragedy has grave implications for society, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. He admitted everything at the 2015 inquests into the disaster, saying that his professional failings led to the deaths of 96 innocent men, women and children. They live with the misery every day. Lord Justice Peter Taylors interim report into the tragedy puts the blame on South Yorkshire Police. At 2.48pm Gate C was opened - also by police in the area - sparking a comment from an officer alongside Duckenfield that fans had stormed the ground. That sets the bar very high for the prosecution. The trial against retired Ch Supt Donald Denton, 83, retired Det Ch Insp Alan Foster, 74, and former solicitor Peter Metcalf, 71, collapses. The prosecution argued that, back then, Duckenfield was looking to shift blame. 27 febrero, 2023 . This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Jimmy Hennessey, a 29-year-old, had negligible medical attention and was placed in a body bag while still alive. Crucially, the panel finds that 41 victims did not have signs of the crush injuries originally claimed by pathologists, and so may have been saved. Sheffield Wednesday's former club secretary Graham Mackrell was found guilty of a health and safety offence in May 2019. Due to the ongoing proceedings relating to Duckenfield, and a forthcoming trial of two former South Yorkshire police officers and the forces then solicitor on charges of perverting the course of justice, the 30-year memorial ceremonies will be muted. 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