Families of the 97 Liverpool fans who died in the Hillsborough disaster say they will "never get justice" after a report revealed that 12 police officers would have faced gross misconduct proceedings, but cannot be punished due to retirement. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) concluded a 13-year, £150 million investigation into the 1989 tragedy, determining that these officers committed "fundamental failures" and made "concerted efforts" to blame fans.
The disaster occurred on April 15, 1989, during an FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough Stadium. A crush in the Leppings Lane end of the stadium resulted in the deaths of 97 fans and injuries to hundreds more.
The IOPC report detailed how South Yorkshire Police (SYP) failed in its planning for the match and in its response as the disaster unfolded. The watchdog also found that police officers sought to minimize the force's responsibility and culpability by deflecting blame onto victims, Liverpool football club supporters.
According to the IOPC, the officers who would have faced gross misconduct cases include senior officers with crowd safety roles, such as Supt Roger Marshall and Supt Bernard Murray, as well as Assistant Chief Constable Walter Jackson. ACC Jackson was found to have "failed to organise and direct junior-ranking police officers to help save lives" and "failed to take control of the disaster". The report also stated that the match commander, Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield, who infamously lied that Liverpool fans forced open a gate, would have faced 10 gross misconduct cases.
Because all but one of the officers had retired before the IOPC investigations began in 2012, and some have since died, no disciplinary proceedings can take place. Under previous laws, officers who left the police service before December 2017 cannot face disciplinary proceedings. The IOPC could only determine whether the officer had, or would have had, a case to answer for gross misconduct.
Families of the victims expressed outrage and frustration at the outcome of the report. Charlotte Hennessy, whose father James died in the disaster, said, "We'll never get justice. Nobody's ever going to go to prison for killing them, so we'll never get justice, and we knew that". Margaret Aspinall, the mother of 18-year-old James, who also died at Hillsborough, said, "It really makes you very, very angry when you think of all those 97 who died, unlawfully killed, and yet no one's been held to account. To me, that's a disgrace".
The report also confirmed that Duckenfield was a "liar" for claiming that Liverpool fans had forced open a gate to gain entry to the stadium. In reality, Duckenfield had ordered the gate to be opened to relieve congestion outside the ground. Despite this, Duckenfield was acquitted of gross negligence manslaughter in 2019.
The Hillsborough disaster remains Britain's worst sporting tragedy. The new inquests into the disaster, held after the original verdicts of accidental death were quashed in 2012, found in April 2016 that the victims were unlawfully killed. The jury also determined that no behavior by Liverpool supporters contributed to the disaster.
The families are now calling for the implementation of the Hillsborough Law, a new legal obligation imposed on public officials and police officers to report with transparency and candour in their duties. They hope this law will prevent similar injustices from happening in the future. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood paid tribute to the survivors and families of those killed in Hillsborough disaster.
