Liverpool unites for Hillsborough disaster tribute
Print Edition
A BELL tolled in Liverpool to commemorate the Hillsborough disaster victims yesterday as the city paid tribute after a landmark inquest found 96 Liverpool football fans were unlawfully killed in the 1989 stadium crush.
The Liverpool Municipal Buildings bell was struck 96 times from 3:06pm — the time the match at Hillsborough was stopped — as thousands of sympathizers in the city prepared to pay tribute.
The commemorations came a day after a jury said police blunders caused the crush, raising the pressure for criminal prosecutions of those responsible following the two-year inquest.
“Their search for justice has been met with obfuscation and hostility instead of sympathy and answers... This whole process took far too long,” Prime Minister David Cameron told parliament.
Two criminal investigations into Hillsborough should conclude by the end of the year and prosecutors will then consider whether charges can be brought.
One probe is looking at the lead-up to the tragedy and the day of the match itself. The second is investigating the alleged cover-up attempt afterwards.
Possible offenses included gross negligence manslaughter, perverting the course of justice and perjury, Home Secretary Theresa May told parliament.
There is set to be a particular focus on the role of David Duckenfield, the officer in charge of policing the Hillsborough ground in Sheffield, northern England, on the day of the disaster. He ordered the opening of a perimeter gate to relieve pressure outside the ground. That enabled 2,000 fans to surge into already over-full terracing pens, causing the fatal crush.
Duckenfield, now 71 and retired, admitted at the inquest he told a “terrible lie” in the immediate aftermath of the disaster by claiming fans had stormed the gate.
Thousands were expected to pack the streets of Liverpool, northwest England for yesterday’s public commemoration.
The event, in the presence of the victims’ families, will be filled with music, speeches and moments of reflection.
The names and ages of the dead were to be displayed on big screens. Some 38 of the victims were aged between 10-19.
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