Three men, including two retired police officers and an ex-solicitor, are acquitted in a trial about the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster. They faced accusations of altering police statements.
Retired Chief Superintendent Donald Denton, retired Detective Chief Inspector Alan Foster and former solicitor Peter Metcalf all deny charges of perverting the course of justice. Ruling judge, Mr Justice William Davis says there was no case to answer.
The Hillsborough disaster on 15 April 1989 resulted in the death of 96 Liverpool football fans, and injury of hundreds more people. They were crushed at Sheffield Wednesday’s stadium during an FA Cup semi-final match. The tragedy occurred due to a build up of large crowds outside the turnstiles. To relieve the pressure, match commander Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield ordered the opening of an exit gate. This led to two thousand Liverpool fans entering via a tunnel, into the already packed stadium. The oldest victim was 67 years old, while the youngest only 10.
The three men faced accusations of altering statements in an attempt to minimise blame on South Yorkshire Police. However, the judge ruled that the statements in question were prepared for a public inquiry in 1990. As that was not a statutory inquiry, it was not considered “a court of law”. Therefore, it was not a “course of public justice” which could be perverted. The trial has been going on for over four weeks at the Nightingale Court at the Lowry Theatre in Salford.
Feelings of anger
Margaret Aspinall, the mother of one of those who died in the tragedy, says the ruling is “an absolute mockery” and a “shambles”. She thinks this is the angriest she has ever felt. But no matter what the outcome was, she considers herself as a loser either way.
Ms Aspinall is angered at the amount of taxpayers’ money, only for this end result. She labels it as “a disgrace” that in five years they failed to sort out the best statements to use.
Mary Corrigan, whose lost her 17 year old son in the disaster echoed Ms Aspinall’s feelings of anger. She also criticises the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for their lack of support for the victims’ families throughout the proceedings.
The ruling is “disrespectful to the families” and “another kick in the teeth”. It leads to question why the jury did not get to make the decision. And it also highlights an imbalance in the justice system in this country.
Sue Hemming, from the CPS, says that people have the right to hear the evidence of what happened in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster. She thinks it is surprising “that a publicly funded authority can lawfully withhold information from a public inquiry”. They have a responsibility to find out why so many people died at a football match, so they can ensure it never happens again.
Claire Bassett, from the IOPC, added: “Serious questions must remain over the public and moral duty of police in helping authorities to understand and prevent a further disaster like Hillsborough.”
No justice
The events at Hillsborough that day were devastating, and impacted many people’s lives. Many people have spent years campaigning for justice, so the collapse of the trial will cause much upset and anger. This trial marks the end a long and winding legal road for them. The last 30 years has seen four trials, two inquests, a public inquiry, and a number of other reviews and investigations.
An inquest in 2016 found that the 96 were unlawfully killed, and lay no blame on the fans. This gave hopes of those responsible taking some accountability for what happened. But the match commander was cleared of negligent manslaughter after two trials, and now this trial has collapsed. This means no convictions for anyone for the alleged cover-up.
The bereaved families feel let down by the system as they have not had justice for their loved ones, despite feeling they know the truth about what went wrong. It is a “bitter disappointment”.
Although the solicitors of the three accused men believe this trial should never have even taken place. While they recognise the pain and suffering the families are going through, it was a “waste of public resources”. They argue “there was no cover-up at Hillsborough” and the three men are in the clear since 1998 by Lord Justice Stuart-Smith. They labelled it as a “witch hunt” resurrecting “tired accusations”.
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