Hillsborough justice denied

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has published its final report on the investigation into the Hillsborough disaster. It found that police were guilty of a “fundamental failure” and a “concerted effort” to then blame fans for the tragedy.

The report was an investigation into both the police-led investigation, known as Operation Resolve, into the disaster itself, as well as the investigation by the IOPC into police conduct in the aftermath of the disaster.

Hillsborough

The disaster happened during the FA Cup Semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in 1989. A devastating crush on the west terrace at the Leppings Lane end of the stadium led to the deaths of 97 Liverpool supporters. Additionally, the crush injured hundreds of people and left many more traumatised.

South Yorkshire Police was responsible for the police operation at the game. Previously, several other investigations have looked into the actions of the force during the disaster.

The report summary states:

We investigated 352 complaints and conduct matters related to the disaster and its aftermath. Each complaint and conduct matter was investigated in line with our legal duties, using all the available evidence and applying the relevant legal tests and police professional standards in place at the time.

We have only been able to uphold complaints or give an opinion for misconduct where the available evidence met the legal thresholds we must apply. However, just over half of complainants have had at least one complaint upheld or, in our opinion, there would have been a case to answer for misconduct for one or more officers, had they remained serving. Our work has been restricted by the challenges of investigating events so long after they occurred.

The report found that the former chief constable of South Yorkshire Police, Chief Constable Peter Wright, should have faced gross misconduct charges for:

his part in attempting to minimise culpability and deflect blame for the disaster away from SYP and towards Liverpool supporters.

He died in 2011.

The report also named Chief Supt David Duckenfield, the match commander on the day.

Back in 2019, he was cleared by a jury of gross negligence manslaughter at a retrial. This was after the jury in his first trial was unable to reach a verdict.

In total, the IOPC found that 12 officers would have faced gross misconduct investigations for the series of police failings that occurred before, during, and after the disaster. A 13th officer would have also potentially faced a misconduct case.

Justice delayed

None of the officers will face disciplinary proceedings because they have all left the police force.

The IOPC report also found that South Yorkshire Police:

fundamentally failed in its planning for the match, in its response as the disaster unfolded and in how it dealt with traumatised supporters and families searching for their loved ones.

The IOPC concluded:

Based on the evidence examined in our investigations, we agree that there were fundamental failures by South Yorkshire Police (SYP) in both the planning for the match and the policing of it, as well as in its response to the disaster as it unfolded. In the aftermath, we found considerable evidence that SYP did not give sufficient priority to the need for openness and transparency. Instead, it adopted a defensive approach and sought to control the evidence submitted to the Taylor Inquiry and West Midlands Police in an attempt to deflect the blame from the police.

Like the HIP Report and the Goldring Inquests, we found no evidence to support police accounts to the media, the Taylor Inquiry and both sets of inquests, which suggested that the behaviour of supporters caused or in any way contributed to the disaster.

We also examined the actions of West Midlands Police (WMP), which had been tasked with investigating the disaster and supporting the Taylor Inquiry.  We found this investigation to be wholly unsatisfactory and inexplicably narrow.

In a press conference after the report was published, Nicola Brook, a solicitor at Broudie Jackson Canter acting for several bereaved families, said that it was a “bitter injustice” that no one would be held to account.

She added:

This outcome may vindicate the bereaved families and survivors who have fought for decades to expose the truth – but it delivers no justice. Instead, it exposes a system that has allowed officers to simply walk away, retiring without scrutiny, sanction or consequence for failing to meet the standards the public has every right to expect.

They are left with yet another bitter injustice: the truth finally acknowledged, but accountability denied.

Feature image via Soccer Stories – Oh My Goal/ YouTube