Hillsborough

[Shaggy]

Cheers. Says it all really.

[Assassin]

This is scandalous
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Police officers who claimed trauma after the Hillsborough Disaster were given more than £90,000 in compensation on average, while families of children killed in the tragedy typically received only £3,500.


Families of the victims today spoke of their anger as it emerged that 16 officers received payments totalling £1.5million in the aftermath of the event.


The average payout for officers was £93,000 - 30 times the statutory level of compensation received by parents whose children were among the 96 Liverpool supporters crushed to death at the football stadium in Sheffield in 1989

Some of the bereaved claim they received as little as £1,000.

The shocking imbalance - revealed in papers published this week by the Hillsborough Independent Panel - has caused more upset to families who waited 23 years for justice after details of the disaster were covered up by police.

Trevor Hicks suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after his daughters Vicky, 15, and Sarah, 19, were killed at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

He said he received a fraction of the amount received by some of the police officers who were on duty that day.



Imbalance: Trevor Hicks, who lost two daughters in the disaster, prepares for the first meeting of the Hillsborough Families Support Group. He said he received only a fraction of the compensation given to some police officers

Mr Hicks, president of the Hillsborough Family Support Group (HFSG), told the People: 'Many who lost family members have received nothing. Yet we are seeing large amounts awarded to people who perhaps shouldn't have taken jobs in the first place.


'It should be fair and equitable for all. This is double standards.'

Margaret Aspinall, who lost her son James, 18, in the tragedy, said she received only £1,200.

'There are people who think we got millions,' she said. 'That couldn't be further from the truth.'

The panel's report stated: 'In cases that concerned the death of children, their parents received no more than the statutory bereavement allowance of £3,500 and funeral expenses.

'Cases that concerned the death of adults survived by dependants resulted in higher payments.

'Compensation for those who endured physical or psychological injury was assessed on the nature and extent of the injury, resulting loss of earnings or any ongoing medical costs.'

The panel found that compensation claims from South Yorkshire Police (SYP) officers 'caused considerable tension within the force'.

It states: 'Senior officers viewed the claims with "great concern" and junior officers felt "immense pressure" from the force to withdraw them.'

The report continues: '£1.5million was ultimately paid out by SYP to 16 officers.

'The costs were met from the force's employers' insurance cover.'

The damning report revealed a cover-up took place to shift the blame on to the victims and that 41 of the 96 lives lost could have been saved.

The panel found 164 police statements were altered, 116 of them to remove or alter 'unfavourable' comments about the policing of the match and the unfolding disaster.

Reviews have been ordered by police authorities in West Yorkshire, into the actions of Chief Constable Sir Norman Bettison, who was a senior South Yorkshire officer at the time, and West Midlands, which conducted an investigation into the disaster.

South Yorkshire Police, which still employs 195 officers who were on duty at the ground on the day of the tragedy, said the force would refer itself to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

The HFSG met for the first time today to decide discuss the next step in its campaign for justice for the victims.

High-profile lawyers for the campaign, Michael Mansfield QC and Lord Falconer, were due to appear at the meeting at Liverpool's Anfield stadium via an internet videolink.

Mrs Aspinall, who chairs the group, said: 'We are going to be taking legal advice to find out what we do next. We have got to make sure we are all singing from the same hymn sheet.'

Mr Hicks said: 'We will be looking at all the options and seeing where we go from here. I think it's almost certain now that there will be fresh inquests.'

A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police said: 'Compensation tariffs for personal injury or conditions such as post traumatic stress disorder are defined by law.

'The payments received by officers, victims and families of victims following the Hillsborough Disaster were not determined by South Yorkshire Police.'

[ChesterDave]

A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police said: 'Compensation tariffs for personal injury or conditions such as post traumatic stress disorder are defined by law.

What does the law say about defamation, or lying in court?

[Frenchie]

I'm so glad the the press is diisseminating the tragedy and delving off into micro-analysing the detail of all the sub-stories and lies, because for 23 years we have had to defend the victims and their families honour.

That last piece above has boiled my piss, I heard Mr Hicks say that if the prosecution services fail to issue warrents and charges that the families will instigate private prosecution.

I'm also sad as to the 39 poor people in Heysel, I don't feel the collective fan base has felt sufficient remorse if you know what I mean. I know a mosaic went up at Anfield and the Juve supporters turned their backs, but what would we have done the other way around?

I know that charges were brought and guilt apportioned but it still left an indellible stain on LFC.

It's wrong for journos to connect these two because the two sets of emotions are polar opposites and so they shoud be. However I'm now feeling them.

Anyone else think the same?

[Kenneth]

Fantastic from Reading that.

[ChesterDave]

RSA are maintaining on their FB page that they did cooperate and provide documents to the HIP.

This despite teh HIP stating they did not.

Who to believe, the insurers of the ground without a safety certificate, or the investigating panel than studied 450,000 pages of evidence?

[Mostar]

[Nicey]

Seen that at a number of games yesterday

[RichC]

heartbreaking

Anne Williams@annewilliams96

I can never forgive the pathologist who told us kevin was the worst injured of the 96 and they supressed all the witnesses statements

Anne Williams@annewilliams96

After spending hours with the top forensic pathologist at Guys London Kevin's injuries were mild and he could have been saved.

[RichC]

whoever got her to change her statement should have the full weight of the law thrown at them, unbelievable

Anne Williams@annewilliams96

Kevin died in the arms of SWPC Debra Martin at 4.00pm calling mum, they bullied her into changing her statement.

[Joey Jones]

History Channel now - Hillsborough Remembered.

[Buzzo]

One of many good articles in the Independent today.

Hillsborough: Ten testimonies - 'Indescribable scenes of chaos in a theatre of death'
Witnesses and relatives recall their experiences of the day in April 1989 when 96 football fans were killed at the Sheffield Wednesday ground. Jonathan Owen, Ruby Lott-Lavigna and Hattie Mahony report

Witnesses and relatives recall their experiences of the day in April 1989 when 96 football fans were killed at the Sheffield Wednesday ground. Jonathan Owen, Ruby Lott-Lavigna and Hattie Mahony report


The doctor
Dr John R Ashton CBE

Dealt with the dead and dying on the pitch at Hillsborough

"Football fans knew about Hillsborough. There had been problems there before. What happened that day amounted to supporters being treated like animals being herded to the slaughter.

It was almost indescribable; amid scenes of bloody chaos in a ground that had become a theatre of death, the emergency services simply failed to function. There was virtually no resuscitation equipment to hand. It was utter chaos. Around 5pm, the mood changed. Police were rounded up from around the ground, everyone else evicted, and the first police debrief took place. This must have been when the conspiracy began. When 164 police officers doctor their notes, that is not a few bad apples. It is a systematic conspiracy that must have been authorised or ordered, even perpetrated by senior officers.

This week was about the families and loved ones of the dead. It was also about much more. If you lose a dear relative who has lived a good long life, you grieve. If you lose someone in a disaster it must be 100 times worse. But if you lose a loved one in a disaster and then the facts are wrapped in a tissue of lies and conspiracy, how do you deal with that? What happened at Hillsborough is a symptom of the corruption in public life that is endemic now. At stake is the vitality of our democracy".

The footballer
Bruce Grobbelaar

Former Liverpool goalkeeper

"There were shouts and screams from the crowd just behind me. It was different – not the ordinary crowd noise – and I turned around to look. What amazed me first was the concentration and squash of fans in the centre section. As play was going forward over the centre line I heard a shout: "Bruce, please help!" – a desperate shout from a fan squashed up against the fencing to the right of my goal as I looked at Leppings Lane terraces. He screamed: "Please get the ****ing gate open! Help, help!"

All the people that could speak were pleading for help. There were two policemen near the gate right alongside the fan who had shouted to me and so I shouted to them: "Get the gate open." I called again to the policemen: "Open the ****ing gate" and one just turned away from me and looked back at the crowd but the other went to the gate and opened it, and it was like taking the top off a shaken Coke bottle – people were everywhere. A fan came up to me on the pitch and said: "Bruce, they're killing us." I said: "Who's killing you?" And he said: "They're crushing us – our fans."

The mother
Anne Williams

Has been fighting for a new inquest into the death of her 15-year-old son for more than 20 years

"Kevin didn't even die from what they said. I've had numerous forensic reports from the top guy. I tracked down everyone that touched Kevin that day. These people were never ever called to Kevin's inquest. They've painted a different picture, and I found out exactly what happened to Kevin. Kevin didn't die from traumatic asphyxiation; he wasn't dead by 3.15. There must have been others that were saveable, like Kevin. The cause of death was one thing I wanted to put right on the death certificate. If he'd got oxygen that day, he'd be alive.

I was advised to wait until the Independent Panel deliver their report before submitting my memorial for a new inquest to the Attorney General, who has said he will look at it.

The evidence is there and it's always been there. We'll never forget Hillsborough, but getting the truth acknowledged will make a difference to the lives of the bereaved and the survivors.

The thought of being able to wake up one morning and not be thinking straight away about files and documents is a welcome one. I can't wait until I can know my little boy is at peace, with a correct death certificate, because I want a life."

The campaigner
Sheila Coleman

Spokeswoman for the Hillsborough Justice Campaign

"I can remember listening to the local radio the next morning as names of the dead were being read out as they'd been identified. It was perverse because I'd had friends who were there and I was listening for their names, not wanting to hear them – being glad when I didn't hear them, but then feeling guilty because they were someone else's friends and someone else's children.

When I was attending the inquests I saw the cover-up happening and saw how people were being treated. Families were exploited in their vulnerability, in their grief, so they were railroaded through a corrupt system at the time because of their grief. They weren't up to challenging things. Also, most of them were traumatised. Afterwards it was about trusting your instincts, and from when I sat in the coroner's court and saw those police officers I trusted my instincts. The coroner's court was corrupted by the police, and I think the inquest verdicts should be quashed with immediate effect."

The priest
Reverend Alastair Cutting

A curate at Hillsborough in 1989

"I was curate at the time and Leppings Lane was 100 yards from my door. A call had gone out on the local radio for all social workers and clergy to come in. I'd moved into the area just a month before. I was in the gymnasium until about 2am. My vicar went on right through the night and I took the services the next day. It was a baptism of fire. Liverpool was a city in mourning, but Sheffield was a city in mourning as well because it happened on our doorstep. It was just so awful. I remember seeing those families coming off the coaches and the shock on their faces and going with them as we went through the process of trying to identify their loved ones, if they were there. It still comes back to me every year. I'm deeply troubled by the significant cover-up revealed in the Bishop James Jones report. I'm deeply saddened by that. Many good Sheffield people at junior levels of responsibility will feel deeply let down by the manipulation of the story – bearing false witness never helps. Transparency, honesty and integrity in public office are the key things I hope will grow from this."

The pop star
Peter Hooton

The Farm, and one of thousands of Liverpool fans at the game

"It was common knowledge to football fans that the Leppings Lane was a "bad end", even before the pens were put in. It was a surreal day; it was like it wasn't happening because of so much confusion. I was in the north stand. I went on to the pitch because I saw casualties coming through and people getting CPR in and around the penalty area at the Nottingham Forest end. I went up to the police line and asked what was happening. They said: "We don't know. We are waiting for orders." I pointed to people giving others the kiss of life and said: "Can't you help them?" They said: "We can't do anything until we get an order." That's one abiding memory. I was angry but we didn't realise the extent of it, and to be fair to the police on that line, I don't think they did. My memory of that day was just walking around in confusion. All that day it never really hit me as such – it was just a state of shock.

Wednesday was a historic day. There's a brilliant Disraeli quote: "Justice is truth in action." We've had the truth, now we want the action. There's no doubt the inquests should now be quashed. It's so obvious that these people were complicit, the collusion between the media and the higher echelons of the South Yorkshire police and politicians; I'd like to see them in front of the courts. They've perverted the course of justice and we've had to defend ourselves for 23 years".

The Journalist
Gordon Hay

Former Daily Mirror journalist

"A phone call from London first alerted us. The night news desk was on. Hillsborough had happened three days earlier and we were the out-of-town contingent of the Daily Mirror team in Liverpool, from where the dead, the dying, the grieving families and the survivors hailed. Could we help stand up a story filed by Whites, the reputable news agency in Sheffield, that unnamed police officers were claiming that drunken Liverpool fans had hampered emergency service attempts to treat the injured, pull survivors from the massive crush, some urinating on the broken bodies and attacking rescuers and, perhaps the most appalling accusation of all, that callous thugs had robbed the dead and dying?

Our colleagues in Sheffield, Frank Thorne and the late Ted Oliver, having made strenuous checks earlier, told the night news editor they could not stand the allegations up, nor did they believe them to be true. Oliver even threatened to quit if the story appeared under his byline. We started calling people we had met since our arrival in Liverpool. The bereaved, the survivors and fans' representatives. The story did not stand up to the inquiries of at least five experienced journalists. We all became suspicious that misinformation was being leaked by South Yorkshire Police in an attempt to divert attention from their inadequacies and cock-ups on the day. We suspected back then that a black propaganda machine had been cranked up. The Mirror turned the police claims story on its head and ran and piece saying the victims' families were outraged at suggestions their own people had indulged in appalling behaviour. That this has now been fully exposed brings quiet satisfaction but it is nothing compared to the part that the exposure plays in helping bring some closure to Liverpool and the families now that the real "truth" is, at last, out there for all to see".

The politician
Clive Betts MP

Former leader of Sheffield City Council

"For me it was just a sense of not knowing what was happening. My first indication was somebody telling me that 60 people had been killed and then absolute despair. I think a lot of people just didn't realise the extent of what was happening, and then they realised people had died and were seriously injured. There was no information, no announcements; it was just complete confusion. I remember it being so chaotic. It brings back awful memories for me, as I was there when it happened, but when I think of all the families who have been affected, who have lost people dear to them, it must be so much worse. Then to find out after 23 years that what was reported that day was a lie, it's disgraceful.

Regarding judicial matters, there is clear evidence now that the official account of the tragedy was false. There definitely needs to be a new inquest into what happened and who was involved. Here is something that was clearly organised; people knew what they were doing. I'm not calling for anybody to be removed immediately, but the new inquest will reveal what truly happened and then action should be taken from there. Whatever happens, it needs to be in the best interest and wishes of the individuals and families affected by the tragedy. Their years of campaigning were finally successful, and so we should respect whatever they want to happen".

The survivor
Kenneth Derbyshire

Was 22 when he escaped with his life

"I will never forget what happened that day. The feeling went from absolute joy to fearing for my life. I remember walking through the turnstiles, being in the tunnel and then just a surge of people. A wall of people hit me. I survived by being pulled up from the balcony above me. It was the worst day of my life and will be with me all the time. I saw people dying in front of me and crying for help but I couldn't do anything. When I got out of the stadium they put us on a special train; there was a policeman on the phone who gave us a commentary of how many had been found dead. People were just sitting with their heads in their hands saying "I can't believe it". It was the first time I had visited Hillsborough and I can't go back again. To this day it still sends a shiver down my spine. For 23 years I and all those who were at Hillsborough that day have been branded drunken hooligans but now finally everybody knows that isn't the case. I felt so angry about the allegations but now I am just relieved. I feel made up – a lot of weight and pressure is finally off my shoulders".

The police constable
Derek Bruder

An off-duty officer watching the game that day. He went to the aid of Kevin Williams in an attempt to save the teenager's life

"I saw this man lying on the floor convulsing. The police cordon in front of the north stand appeared unconcerned; this agitated the supporters in the stand, who were shouting for them to go and help the people on the pitch. None of the police officers left the cordon. I walked through the cordon without being challenged and then went to the man having convulsions.

Almost immediately I was joined by a St John's Ambulance man. I identified myself as an off-duty police officer. He then said to me: "You do mouth to mouth and I'll do heart massage." I then took his pulse in his neck. I could feel a slight pulse. I and most police officers have only basic first aid knowledge. When I administered first aid to the man I felt totally inadequate on reflection. However, with that particular man, I don't think more knowledge would have helped, though it might have in others".

[Ben_Itez]

If you look at Tony Barrett's timeline on twitter he provides links to many great articles over the past few days.

[Gibbo]

Napoli

[Fredo]

That's great.