Hillsborough: The real truth
Cops smeared Liverpool fans to deflect blame, new probe says
41 lives could have been saved, The Sun says: We are profoundly sorry for false
reports and families of 96 victims call for prosecutions
13 September 2012
THE real truth behind the
Hillsborough disaster was finally revealed yesterday — 23 years after the
tragedy claimed 96 innocent lives. An independent report showed police tried to
cover up catastrophic failings by disgracefully smearing Liverpool football fans,
pinning the blame on them and falsifying reports.
It also disclosed FORTY-ONE
victims of the 1989 FA Cup semi-final horror could have been saved if emergency
services had acted faster.
The Sun last night said the paper
was “deeply ashamed and profoundly sorry” for our notorious front page headline
The Truth — published in the aftermath of the tragedy above a story reporting the
police’s version of events. Furious families of the dead called for criminal
charges to be brought against cops involved in the “depraved” deception. The
devastating report into the Hillsborough tragedy savaged the police for a
shocking catalogue of lies, blunders and smears.
The astonishing conclusions
sparked a wave of shame and regret — but families of the 96 victims immediately
demanded a CRIMINAL inquiry.The independent report — one of the most damning
ever seen in Britain — said senior police officers led a deliberate campaign to
blame dead fans for the tragedy.Cops’ notes were doctored to suggest supporters
were drunk, had arrived without tickets and forced their way into the ground. Blood
samples were taken from all the victims — some as young as TEN — to try to
prove they’d been drinking excessively. And police even did criminal record
checks on the dead in a bid to smear them after the crush.
But the Hillsborough Independent
Panel, led by the Bishop of Liverpool James Jones, completely EXONERATED
Liverpool fans killed in Britain’s biggest football disaster.Tragically, it
concluded that as many as 41 of those who died could have been saved if
emergency services had not been guilty of a string of tragic mistakes.It also
released 400,000 documents which exposed how 164 police statements were ALTERED
— 116 to remove criticism of the operation.
Prime Minister David Cameron
yesterday made a “profound” apology over the tragedy at the FA Cup semi-final
between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest held at Sheffield Wednesday’s
Hillsborough ground.He ruled out any Government cover-up or conspiracy, but
told MPs: “With the weight of the new evidence in this report, it is right for
me today as Prime Minister to make a proper apology to the families of the 96
for all they have suffered over the past 23 years.
“On behalf of the Government —
and indeed our country — I am profoundly sorry for this double injustice that
has been left uncorrected for so long.”
He added: “Anyone who has lost a
child knows the pain never leaves you. But to read a report years after that
says ‘a swifter, more appropriate, better focused and properly equipped
response had the potential to save more lives’, can only add to the pain.”
The Attorney General Dominic
Grieve said he would consider if there was enough evidence to apply to have the
original inquest verdicts of accidental death quashed. South Yorkshire Police
also expressed profound regret at the “disgraceful lies” told by senior
officers at the time.
Current Chief Constable David
Crompton said: “On that day South Yorkshire Police failed the victims and
families. The police lost control. In the immediate aftermath senior officers
sought to change the record of events. Disgraceful lies were told which blamed
the Liverpool fans for the disaster.
“These actions have caused untold
pain and distress for over 23 years. I am profoundly sorry for the way the
force failed and I apologise to the families of the 96 and Liverpool fans. I’m
ashamed. It’s been a dreadful day for the force.”
The Sun again publicly apologised
for the front page headline “The Truth” — written by former editor Kelvin
MacKenzie — on a story in which police officers accused drunk Liverpool fans of
urinating on and stealing from the dead.
Current editor Dominic Mohan
said: “Twenty-three years ago The Sun newspaper made a terrible mistake. We
published an inaccurate and offensive story about the events at Hillsborough.
"We said it was the truth —
it wasn’t. The Hillsborough Independent Panel has now established what really
happened that day. It’s an appalling story and at the heart of it are the
police’s attempts to smear Liverpool fans.
"It’s a version of events
that 23 years ago The Sun went along with and for that we’re deeply ashamed and
profoundly sorry. We’ve co-operated fully with the Hillsborough Independent
Panel.”
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