Back to index of Nerve 14 - Summer 2009

Hillsborough - 20 years and still no justice

The 15th April 1989 marked the twentieth anniversary of the Hillsborough Disaster. 96 Liverpool fans dead, hundreds physically injured, an inestimable number of people traumatised and still suffering. The police were responsible for the Disaster (see the interim Report of Lord justice Taylor). No one held accountable. That, in essence, is the history of Hillsborough and the reason why, twenty years on there is still a campaign for justice.

By Sheila Coleman

As an academic researcher and an active member of the Hillsborough Justice Campaign I am familiar with the cruel and often callous treatment meted out to bereaved families and survivors by state agencies over the past twenty years. Even now, after so many years, it still fills me with disgust when I recall how families and survivors were treated at the inquests in Sheffield. Day after day I travelled with, and sat amongst, families and survivors and with them witnessed a systematic cover up of the truth. The evidence given by fans was often dismissed if it did not fit the official version of events. At the main stage of the inquest some families did not hear any evidence relating to their loved one. Joan and Peter Tootle were one such family. Peter attended at Sheffield for the duration of the inquests yet no evidence was heard relating to his son (also Peter) who had died, other than to hear a verdict of accidental death recorded against his name. If my memory serves me right they, like the others represented, had paid in the region of three thousand pounds each for that.

After the conclusion of the inquests, families were advised that there was nowhere else for them to go legally. The Hillsborough Steering Committee of solicitors ran out at about the same time as the money did. However, a few good legal people offered advice pro bono regarding judicially reviewing the inquest verdict. Eventually six families won leave to challenge the inquest verdict. The hearing was held over a week in the High Court in London. Liverpool City Council (which had set up a Disaster Working party in the wake of Hillsborough) paid for the fares and accommodation of the families. I refer to this in fairness to highlight the fact there were people in the city council twenty years ago who were committed to the truth and supported those families actively fighting for it. Although the case in the high court failed, families involved, nevertheless, did not give up and eventually became the founder members of the Hillsborough Justice Campaign together with other bereaved families and survivors. “The families in the justice campaign are the ones who have been fighting since the beginning” John Glover.

People say a week is a long time in politics – twenty years more so. The same council that enabled those six families to attend the judicial review in London all those years ago, twenty years after the disaster chose to ignore the very organisation that the families formed, namely the Hillsborough Justice Campaign.

Liverpool City Council and the 20th anniversary of Hillsborough

The production of a commemorative cd was apparently the idea of the current Lord Mayor- himself present at Hillsborough. He requested the support of a variety of local musicians and “The Fields of Anfield Road” (a reworking of Irish song “The Fields of Athenry”) was launched in a blaze of publicity as a tribute to the 96. However, the tribute clearly did not extend to all families of the 96 as only the Hillsborough Family Support Group was invited. . The Hillsborough Justice Campaign was totally ignored in the planning, production and launch of the cd. In so doing the Lord Mayor and the producers of the record ignored, and, in my opinion, insulted, all the bereaved families of the Hillsborough Justice Campaign. On inquiring as to why the HJC had been ignored two answers emerged. Peter Hooton (producer and singer) said that the city council only recognised the Hillsborough Family Support Group and the producers wanted to steer clear of politics. Steve Rotheram, the Lord Mayor, said the City Council had consulted with LFC and had been told that they only recognised the HFSG and anyway he didn’t want to get involved in politics. I would assert that by specifically involving only one group they made it the very thing they say they were avoiding i.e. political and partisan.

The decision of the Lord Mayor to have the freedom of the city conferred on the families of the 96 again led to families in the HJC being ignored. It became apparent that not all families had been invited. The Lord Mayor’s office, on being contacted by the HJC, informed the group that they were working off a list given to them by the President of the HFSG, Trevor Hicks. The office was told by us that this list would be incomplete as not all families were in the HFSG (those in the HJC having been expelled years ago for forming the HJC). Indeed there were families who were not members of either group. The HJC did their best to ensure that families were informed. Nevertheless the consequence of this omission was that families had to ring up and effectively had to ask to be invited or the HJC passed on the information to the Lord Mayor’s office. The net result was last minute hand delivered invitations and in the end some families were left uninvited. This situation could largely have been avoided had the Lord Mayor consulted with the HJC. It follows of course that the HJC (which includes a survivor as chairperson) did not receive an invitation to the ceremony.

These two (in my belief), genuine attempts to commemorate the anniversary of Hillsborough needlessly caused distress to the families of some of the 96 because those involved, for whatever reason, chose to ignore members of a campaign that has been at the forefront of actively campaigning for justice for twenty years.

The Hillsborough Justice Campaign, as an organisation, was totally ignored in all formal commemorations initiated by the city of Liverpool. Whilst I am not surprised by this, I am nevertheless saddened. Even in death it would appear, people try to create divisions and hierarchies. Don’t they know that everyone in the graveyard votes the same? I think of some of the founder members of the HJC who are now dead. Maureen Church, who together with her husband Dave, fought from the very beginning for justice for their son Gary. She was a strong, principled woman who, like her husband, had honesty and integrity at the core of her value system. Terry Burkett and John Harrison, two strong, plain speaking men, fearless in their quest for truth. Joe Glover, who valiantly tried to save his brother Ian, only to be crushed to death himself ten years later. Alf Langley, another survivor, who, like Joe died far too young. Alf typified the attitude of so many survivors. Like them he was at Hillsborough. Like them he was ignored. However, also like them he refused to go away. He believed in the fight. I reflect on these good people and what they might say about their families being ignored by the city council, by LFC and others. Sadly, they would not be surprised. These people died still fighting for justice. Memories of them are a powerful, driving force.

The Media

Media interest leading up to the 20th anniversary was intense. Whilst some journalists were sympathetic and sensitive to both subject matter and potential interviewees, others clearly just wanted a story at any cost and insensitivity was displayed by the nature of their requests. Some of the most sensitive and responsible reporting, unsurprisingly came from journalists who were themselves survivors of the disaster. Also some of the international journalists and film makers were far more courageous in highlighting the truth. Nevertheless the keen national media interest once again brought Hillsborough to the attention of the country with Brian Reade of the Daily Mirror doing an outstanding job in attempting to keep the interest.

The Memorial Service

The memorial service at Anfield saw an estimated 32,000 people come together to pay their respects. The order of service programme omitted the fact that a government minister would address the crowd. Andy Burnham MP was greeted at first, but when he announced that he was representing the Prime Minister, cheers very swiftly turned to jeers. Then the jeers turned into a collective shout of justice for the 96. The minister took it on the chin. He stood silent as the chanting grew louder and sustained. Whoever had invited the minister must surely have been questioning the wisdom of the decision at that point. When Trevor Hicks (who was presiding over the service) apologised to Andy Burnham for the behaviour of those chanting, many left the stadium distressed and angered by what they deemed to be an unnecessary apology. As bereaved father John Glover later said: “Trevor Hicks was not speaking for me or my family when he apologised to Andy Burnham for fans shouting for justice. I was proud to be amongst them”. The majority of those shouting were the same people who week after week display their justice banners and wear their justice stickers and badges with pride. Their shouting on the anniversary was merely a continuation of what has become normal, routine behaviour – a clear indication of how entrenched the collective fight for justice is in the psyche of Liverpool people and those who support the Hillsborough issue. This was Liverpudlians doing what they do best – looking after their own and demanding to be heard. Conversely, the silence that fell over the city at 3.06pm on the 15th April shows that we know how to behave when it is important and appropriate.

Police Files to be made available

The announcement shortly after the anniversary that the thirty year rule is to be relaxed in order to allow for the release of police files was welcomed by many and further maintained media interest. However, it needs to be remembered that the information in those files was gathered by West Midlands police officers who were the investigating force in the aftermath of the disaster and who had amongst them individuals from the notorious Serious Crime squad of the same force ( by then disbanded because of corruption – think Birmingham six for one example). Moreover, the records are to be gone through again by the police before being released for families to view. Is this a genuine attempt at transparency and truth or is it a further mechanism to consign Hillsborough to history. I sincerely hope it is the former but fear it is the latter. Transparency and apologies are that much easier when there is little chance of legal action.

The Fight Goes on

Why do people continue to fight? Ask any survivor. For so many it is because they know the truth and for the majority the truth is more than a scurrilous tabloid headline, more than a book title – it is their lived experience. Unlike others they cannot dip in and out of Hillsborough when it suits them. Hillsborough is their lived experience – everyday. As Kenny Derbyshire, Chair of the HJC stated: “It’s the first thing that comes into my mind when I wake up in the morning then it is with me all day and somehow I have to learn to live with that”. This is the reality of so many survivors’ lives and for some that has been too much to live with and they have taken their lives. That is why I get so angry when I see attempts to consign Hillsborough to history. When I see the commercialisation of death and disaster. The number of people who attended the twentieth anniversary memorial service showed how deeply people feel. However, those feelings have to be translated into active support for the families and survivors in order to apply a sustained pressure on the state to acknowledge the cover up of Hillsborough. We all know the truth but we want it officially recognised. We owe it to the 96.

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