I watched a documentary a couple of nights ago ....................shocking indeed 

it beggars belief what was said and withheld  

There should be a another unbiased enquiry into this and all the liars in the police etc should prosecuted.

I think there will be Katty, but i bet those who were really to blame for the way it was handled at the time and then covered up will never come to justice. Something That big being brushed under the carpet would never have taken 23yrs of constant battling for truth to come out if it wasn't a mass cover up going through many ranks right up to the top. My guess if there will be an new inquiry and it will all be pinned on a couple/handful of people

 

 

All the senior cops and others will be retired by now on big fat pensions etc,it stinks.Didn't Thatcher at the time slag off the fans too.horrible old bag.

The prime minister Margaret Thatcher was informed that a senior member of the Merseyside Police directly blamed supporters: "One officer, born and bred in Liverpool, said that he was deeply ashamed to say that it was drunken Liverpool fans who had caused this disaster, just as they had caused the deaths at Heysel."

This officer is not named.

 

More of the views of the chief constable are also referred to:

"He deplored the Press's morbid concentration on pictures of bodies. He was also uneasy about the way in which Anfield was being turned into a shrine".

It is important to bear in mind that this was written just days after the Hillsborough disaster and the views of the chief constable and those of his senior officers may well have changed over the subsequent weeks.

The Merseyside Police force has declined to comment.

But what of the South Yorkshire constabulary?

Hillsborough report reveals South Yorkshire Police made 'strenuous efforts' to deflect blame on to Liverpool fans
An independent report into the Hillsborough stadium disaster has concluded that South Yorkshire Police and the ambulance service made "strenuous attempts to deflect blame" for the deaths of 96 Liverpool supporters onto the fans.

• Police carried out criminal record checks on the deceased in an attempt to "impugn their reputations"

• Senior officers privately discussed the "animalistic behaviour" of "drunken marauding fans"

• Evidence that a number of the dead survived "for a significant period" beyond the 3.15pm cut-off point imposed at the original inquest

• 116 of the 164 South Yorkshire Police statements were doctored to remove unfavourable comments

• South Yorkshire Ambulance Service was misleading when it claimed criticism of its conduct made by doctors who were present was factually inaccurate

• There was "no evidence of substance" to support the police account that alcohol and fan aggression played a part in the disaster

• Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher expressed concern in Cabinet that the first inquiry into the disaster contained "devastating criticism of the police"

• The weight placed on blood alcohol levels among the dead was "inappropriate"

The report concludes that police and ambulance service statements were doctored in an attempt to avoid responsibility for the failings of crowd control that were the primary cause of the disaster in April 1989.

The Hillsborough Independent Panel also raises "profound concerns about the conduct an appropriateness of the inquests".

The report finds that the decision of the coroner to rule that all 96 victims died in the same way, and to impose a 3.15pm cut-off time on the inquest, was "unsustainable".

The panel said there was evidence that a number of those that died were alive after the 3.15pm cut-off. The original inquest recorded 96 cases of accidental death, but the families of the deceased have called for those verdicts to be quashed.

In the aftermath, the police claimed that violent behaviour by drunken Liverpool supporters who arrived without tickets was the primary cause of the disaster.

Having reviewed more than 450,000 previously unseen documents, the panel concludes: "The evidence shows conclusively that Liverpool fans neither caused nor contributed to the deaths of 96 men, women and children".

The chairman of the panel, the Bishop of Liverpool the Rt Rev James Jones, said: "The documents disclosed to and analysed by the panel show that the tragedy should never have happened.

"There were clear operational failures in response to the disaster and in its aftermath there were strenuous attempts to deflect the blame onto the fans. The panels detailed reports shows how vulnerable victims, survivors and their families are when transparency and accountability are compromised."

Margaret Thatcher expressed concern in Cabinet that the first inquiry into the disaster contained 'devastating criticism of the police' - quote from Telegraph online. Not that I am surprised, for her it was always about ego, no such things as society.

Listening to 5live earlier some Yorkshire police boff still couldn't bring himselft to renounce the then police force unequivocally.

The whole thing is a disgrace, and so disrespectful to fans, and the people of Liverpool...So glad the truth has finally come out, it always does in the end.

Thatcher IMO, was beyond evil.

Simply amazing that there was a huge police cover up and yet Margaret Thatcher is still the favourite whipping boy!

She never listened to the families.

yep

If Kelvin McKenzie can acknowlege some guilt after 23 years, why not the then PM? Would we let politians get away with it now? No!

she probably wouldnt say anything cos the poor old sod dont know her arse from her elbow now

Guilt?

 

Margaret Thatcher expressed concern in Cabinet that the first inquiry into the disaster contained 'devastating criticism of the police' - quote from Telegraph online. 

 

As far as I can see from this she is not covering it up like the police were but was expressing her concern that possibly the police were to blame.  What way did you read it?

By the way has Tony Blair admitted guilt over the Iraqui war yet?

I know that, but it doesn't take away from the fact that she reacted to false reports as did he.

Squiggle, Tony Blair should say sorry, but so should the rest of the House. They mostly all voted and please don't tell me that the Tories couldn't have got their own intelligence, if so inclined.

 

The same logic applies back when the Hillsborough Disaster took place, the Government as a whole, Opposition included, should have queried the police's cover up.  As was made clear earlier doubts were expressed about the culpability of the police.

 

And furthermore I believe that Tony Blair deliberately lied to the House as he had already agreed with George W. Bush to support him in the war.

I'm not being funny squiggle but what the fecks that got to do with this thread..maybe this does'nt effect you like it does some of us but there is no need to start silly tit for tats....

It doesn't make any difference. Those of us in the football fanzine sector were correct all along. Those of us who took an interest in global politics were correct before Iraq even happened. No hindsight involved on that one.

A perfectly reasonable question stonks in view of the criticism made of Margaret Thatcher.  And why should it affect me less than others?  I remember watching TV with my husband at the time and it was horrific.

if you read colognes reply stonks, you'll see why-calm down lol

 

Try having loved ones there and one not coming home then you defend your Thatcher....

I don't remember a vote on an independant inquiry into Hillsborough in 1989.

Of course not living in the area I cannot know the full horror.  That doesn't mean that it does not impact on those of us who live in different parts of the country.

 

  I am just a little tired of Margaret Thatcher being blamed for every disaster that took place in the last 30 years or so.  My small voice is drowned out on a regular basis on this forum by those who take the opposite view.  That does not mean that my voice should be silenced, I am sorry if you disagree with that.

yeah, got that wrong, sorry cologne, it was your comment about letting other polititans getting away with it, and squiggles reply about tony blair, sorry about that!

If I told you what I thought I'd probably be banned so I shall leave you to get on with your Thatcher love and I will go and remember those that matter....

Oh and this post I think is cold and callous....

come on stonksy wonksy!

its just a discussion

and at the end of it, all that matters is we all agree the pool fans got a shit deal and now its been published

so no point in getting riled

Sir Bernard Ingham had plenty to say before, and he was as close to Thatcher than anyone (excluding Denis). The whole thing has been a disgrace, and I'm glad the victims' families and the survivors have some kind of closure and wish them peace.

One of special contables on duty states that the "cut off" time was a blatant lie( that they were all dead by then) as she was trying to save several fans that were still alive(had  pulses etc but were unconcious) no ambulances reached them.The worst thing is that they now reckon 41 of the dead could have survived if they had got prompt attention.It's a bloody disgrace and I hope they go for all that covered it up from the ground up.

I agree, they showed on the news earlier the police not letting the ambulances through, it makes your blood boil

I hope the families get good legal advice and not from these "Claim" firms etc.

I agree. This isn't about 'ambulance chasing', it's about establishing the truth.

 

 

Pleased the families and getting some justice now, although its never going to bring their loved ones back At least the 'tanked up mob statement can be laid to rest' no thanks to Sir Bernard, and I hope they are at least compensated for the cost of their fight to vindicate those they lost.