Monthly Archives: September 2012

Hillsborough Report: Truth at last but now for the justice

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Having waited 23 years and been denied the truth and the full story on so many occasions, I would suspect that many of the families of victims of the Hillsborough disaster and survivors would have walked into the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral on Wednesday morning with some degree of scepticism.

But no-one could have anticipated the strength of a nearly 400-page report based on the scrutiny of 450,000 documents which blew away the lies that for so long have permeated British society about what happened on 15 April 1989.

Truth at last.

I’ve been writing a lot about the report and its aftermath in recent days as part of my day job.

You can read the main findings of the report here, a round-up of the momentous day that was Wednesday, 12 September 2012 here, what Rafa Benitez – who I spoke to yesterday – thought of it all, and what a delusional Sir Norman Bettison continues to believe despite all that has happened.

I’ve even written something praising David Cameron for his powerful words in the House of Commons on Wednesday and the imperative of all politicians of all persuasions following up their words with actions.

Hillsborough: Hoping that the truth will out and justice will prevail

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Today, the Hillsborough Independent Panel will publish a report on the hundreds of thousands of documents related to the 1989 stadium disaster in Sheffield that it has spent the last two-and-a-half years scrutinising.

After 23 years, the survivors, the families of the victims and everyone affected by the events of 15 April 1989 will, hopefully, have a greater idea of not only what happened that day but what authorities did afterwards to cover for their dreadful inadequacies on that fateful day.

We will know, perhaps just what senior government figures really thought about what happened at Hillsborough and we will know just what could have been done to avert the awful death toll if the coroner did not impose the 3.15pm cut off point which has effectively meant that in one case the strong evidence assembled by Anne Williams about her son, Kevin, and his survival until nearly 4pm day that has never been officially recorded.

For anyone affected by the disaster it can only be hoped that today marks not the end but the beginning of the end and that the fight for justice will be greatly enhanced by the evidence that will be put before the world to see. At long last.