Hillsborough: Yr Hunllef Hir

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-I can't see or hear

-the name Hillsborough...

-..without remembering

-the events of 1989.

-I saw almost 100 people die

-right in front of me on that day.

-It sends a shiver down my spine.

-A real shiver,

-like pins and needles.

-It's entirely physical.

-This should be the happiest day

-of your life, going to a semi-final.

-This shouldn't happen

-at a football match.

-The fear that loved ones

-weren't coming home...

-..was just something

-I wouldn't wish on anybody.

-It was absolutely dreadful.

-I was haemorrhaging.

-Blood was pouring out of my nose.

-Naturally, you'd wipe it away...

-..but I couldn't raise a finger.

-It was a day I wanted to forget...

-..but you don't forget

-days like that.

-It stays with you forever.

-The disaster is people dying.

-The tragedy was the way

-the bereaved families were treated.

-I feel guilty to this day.

-I froze on the spot,

-I didn't help anyone.

-I have to live with that.

-This afternoon, Sheffield

-witnessed the greatest disaster...

-..in the history

-of British football.

-The gates were opened

-and the crowd entered the terrace.

-The crush was unbearable.

-On April 15, 1989, at

-Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield...

-..96 men, women and children

-were killed...

-..after being crushed to death

-on the Leppings Lane terrace.

-What I saw on that day

-still casts a shadow over my life.

-When I work on Sgorio

-on Saturdays...

-..and hear of a goal at

-Hillsborough, I'm right back there.

-I've found it difficult

-to talk about it for over 25 years.

-I know I'm not alone.

-I've supported Liverpool

-since I was a little boy.

-Every game for lads living on the

-Llyn Peninsula is like an away game.

-We'd set off in the morning,

-the four of us in a car.

-Arwel from Y Ffor, his father, Arwel

-driving, and Andrew from Nefyn.

-It's a winding journey

-across the Pennines.

-We would listen to Radio Cymru...

-..until we lost the signal.

-I was a teacher in Glan Clwyd.

-I worked occasionally

-for Radio Cymru.

-They needed a commentator

-for the game in Hillsborough.

-I'd prepared meticulously

-for the match.

-This was also my semi-final.

-We had three tickets

-for Leppings Lane.

-They were seated tickets

-above the terrace.

-Dylan was in another stand.

-I was meeting a college friend

-who lived in Sheffield.

-I met him for a pint

-before the game...

-..and arranged to meet the others

-after the game.

-Mam knew I wanted

-to swap my ticket...

-..to get two terrace tickets

-in the Leppings Lane end with him.

-It was a beautiful day.

-No-one knew what the team was.

-We'd had our pre-match.

-It was just a typical

-morning of a game.

-I met up with Paul and he decided

-that if he took the ticket...

-..he'd deprive a Liverpool fan

-of a ticket.

-He told me to go

-and watch the game.

-I set off just after two

-and headed towards Hillsborough.

-As I walked over the bridge

-approaching Leppings Lane...

-..I could see a lot of people

-had congregated.

-About twenty past two, the crowd

-became more dense at Leppings Lane.

-In that tightly-defined area that is

-the turnstile out of concourse...

-..they were queuing up, turnstiles

-weren't working very well.

-The queue developed into a crowd.

-What I remember more than anything

-is a mounted policeman...

-..and the horse was there

-to keep the supporters in check.

-The horse was stuck

-in the middle of the supporters.

-I can still see the policeman

-and the horse as I've arrived here.

-There were 60 gates or turnstiles

-for 30,000 Nottingham Forest fans.

-There were only 23 at this end for

-over 24,000 Liverpool supporters.

-This area filled quickly

-and the turnstiles couldn't cope.

-It was obvious to see

-what was about to happen.

-It rubs salt in the wounds to

-read the match programme of the day.

-There's a photograph

-of the 1988 semi-final.

-Here's Leppings Lane. I'm in

-there somewhere and it's packed.

-Sheffield Wednesday's chairman,

-Bert McGee...

-..described Hillsborough

-as the perfect venue.

-The experience of fans

-at Hillsborough in the '80s...

-..and specifically

-the terraces of Leppings Lane...

-..differed greatly

-to Bert McGee's description.

-There was serious overcrowding

-during semi-finals...

-..in 1981, 1987 and 1988.

-We'd watched Liverpool's semi-final

-at Hillsborough the previous year.

-Liverpool against Nottingham Forest,

-the same teams, the same location.

-Back then a policeman

-would check your ticket...

-..before allowing you through.

-Without a ticket,

-you couldn't get through.

-Closer still,

-your ticket was checked again.

-There was nothing like that in '89.

-I'd been trying to get a ticket for

-Chris to come in the stands with me.

-Chris said, "Can I go in

-the Leppings Lane with Jason?"

-I said, "No, son,

-I was in there last year.

-"I got in to Pen 3

-and it's not very comfortable.

-"In fact, I would say, Chris,

-it's not safe."

-He came back about 10 minutes later

-and he asked me again.

-"Chris, I've just told you, no."

-He came back a third time and said,

-"Dad, I wanna be with all the boys.

-"There's 10 of us."

-I said yes and I don't know

-as I look at you now why I said yes.

-They arrived in a joyous mood.

-This was a semi-final.

-There was no violence,

-there was no heavy crush.

-There was no people shouting at each

-other. It was still a great mood.

-And then suddenly,

-people became trapped.

-It was very clear that

-in the build-up to three o'clock...

-..that people outside would die

-if that crush wasn't alleviated.

-When I reached the front,

-it was chaotic.

-"Get in, get in, get in."

-No-one checked your ticket.

-No-one took my ticket

-or ripped it in half.

-In I went.

-I remember saying

-I don't think we'll start on time.

-With so many people trying to get

-in, I thought they'd delay kick-off.

-Teams were coming out as I sat down.

-I was glad I was in my seat.

-It was a relief to escape the crush.

-Looking back I think I'd have been

-better off out of there...

-..without seeing what I saw.

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-In the minutes

-before the 3.00pm kick-off...

-..thousands of Liverpool fans...

-..were waiting

-outside the gates of Leppings Lane.

-The responsibility for the match

-in 1989 is very clear.

-The Football Association

-hired the stadium...

-..from Sheffield Wednesday

-Football Club.

-Sheffield Wednesday

-had a responsibility...

-..for gaining a safety certificate

-for the ground...

-..from the Sheffield City Council.

-That safety certificate

-would provide the foundation...

-..for it to be hired out

-to the Football Association.

-None of that worked on the day.

-The safety certificate was out of

-date and all the authorities failed.

-I'd stood on Leppings Lane before.

-The greatest thrill...

-..was standing behind the goal and

-seeing your team score towards you.

-Since it was a semi-final,

-it was packed there.

-Fans were packed in tight,

-very tight.

-It wasn't comfortable in '88

-but nothing happened.

-I never thought there was a danger

-in what I was doing.

-It was like surfing in the crowd,

-forward, to the side and back.

-I was never scared

-but I sometimes held my breath...

-..and thought,

-"What's going on here?"

-A few seconds later,

-everything would die down...

-..and you found your place again

-but that didn't happen that day.

-South Yorkshire Police

-were responsible...

-..for policing Hillsborough.

-19 days before the game,

-Chief Constable Peter Wright...

-..appointed Chief Inspector

-David Duckenfield...

-..as supervisor of the semi-final.

-Duckenfield had no experience of

-controlling a game at Hillsborough.

-On the day, he briefed

-his officers in the stadium.

-There was a lot of scepticism

-from officers about his capability.

-Then remarkably, he goes missing.

-He leaves the stadium,

-nobody knows where he goes...

-..except his driver and

-he's never revealed where they went.

-He doesn't return until 2.00pm.

-This is a major, major match.

-It's his first major match...

-..and he goes missing for two hours

-in the lead-up to the game.

-Then he's the position

-of having to take decisions...

-..in a stadium

-that he's unfamiliar with.

-Senior officers at the highest level

-in South Yorkshire Police...

-..allowed an inexperienced police

-officer in policing football...

-..to take that role on.

-When you come in

-through the turnstiles...

-..the first thing

-that you see is this tunnel.

-At the end of the tunnel,

-you can see some of the pitch.

-That's like a magnet

-that attracts the fans to it.

-I'd reached the end of the tunnel

-and I thought, "It's too full here.

-"Let's move to the side."

-And that's what we did.

-The control box is above

-the Leppings Lane terrace.

-It was clear

-that those central pens were packed.

-They could see with their own eyes

-that they were packed.

-Even more incredible, pens one

-and two, which were below them...

-..they could see they were

-completely underpopulated.

-They should have sealed

-the tunnel...

-..and ensured the

-underpopulated areas were filled.

-But they had this policy

-in South Yorkshire Police...

-..which is

-fans will find their own level.

-That's OK,

-if you have an open terrace.

-Fans will find their own level.

-They go sideways or others

-go sideways to make space for them.

-But they were going into

-literal pens.

-Like cattle pens, you know.

-A massive fence at the front

-with spikes coming in.

-Fences on either side.

-A brick wall behind you

-and no way back up the tunnel.

-The tunnel was full

-as people were coming down.

-I was in the North Stand.

-When they'd got in,

-after about 10 minutes...

-..looking at

-the Leppings Lane end...

-..looking for Christopher wearing

-a Welsh international rugby shirt...

-..and as time got towards 2.50pm...

-..I'm thinking,

-"There's something wrong here."

-Those two pens, three and four,

-were heaving.

-There was a marked difference

-from where I was to the centre area.

-I thought to myself, "There are a

-lot of gaps here. It's quite empty."

-Usually, 2.55pm before a game,

-everywhere would be full.

-Everyone would be there in time.

-There were so many supporters

-outside Leppings Lane...

-..it would have taken another

-40 minutes to let them in safely.

-The man responsible

-for policing this area...

-..was Chief Inspector

-Roger Marshall.

-He's policed Hillsborough many times

-but not that area.

-He phones through

-to the control box.

-He asks Duckenfield

-to open the gates.

-Duckenfield hesitates then orders

-the opening of the gates.

-The gates are opened

-but what Duckenfield doesn't do...

-..is say seal the tunnel.

-The tunnel remains open,

-fans come in...

-..but once they went down

-a one-in-six gradient tunnel...

-..they couldn't get back up.

-The crush became a compression

-in the central pens.

-No way out sideways, forwards...

-..and people are crushed up

-against the fence.

-The pile of bodies

-at the front of pen three was high.

-In the five minutes

-between 2.52 and 2.57...

-..2,000 fans entered

-through Gate C...

-..most heading towards the tunnel to

-the terrace which was already full.

-I remember an incredible atmosphere

-in the game.

-I was excited, as a commentator,

-and glad to be there.

-I remember Liverpool attacking

-early in the game...

-..and Peter Beardsley shooting

-and hitting the bar.

-Then you saw Liverpool supporters

-climbing the radial fences...

-..and the perimeter fences.

-People were climbing up the wall

-to get to the stand above.

-As time went on, you thought

-something serious is happening here.

-It didn't dawn on a lot of people

-what was actually going on.

-Even though you're on the bench,

-you're concentrating on the game.

-You never know when you'll come on.

-When people are on the pitch,

-you realise something's wrong.

-I first thought there might be

-some trouble going on.

-Hooliganism was a problem

-in the '80s in English football.

-That was my initial thought.

-At 3.06 the game was stopped.

-I became very, very cold,

-I was frightened for Chris.

-It got worse. I don't think I've

-ever experienced coldness like it.

-I still didn't think

-that people had died.

-You associate people dying

-with blood and horrific scenes.

-Everything just stopped when

-I saw one supporter carried away.

-There was a jacket over his face.

-I was just absolutely besotted

-and worried about Chris.

-The lad who was sat next to me

-had a transistor radio.

-I said, "What have they said?"

-He said, "There's five dead."

-I said, "You're joking.

-Nobody dies at a football match."

-Soon news filtered through

-to the press that fans had died.

-The producer in Cardiff

-was talking to me on the phone.

-I said, "What do I do?

-I'm hearing that people have died.

-"Am I allowed to say that?"

-I didn't have experience

-of being in that situation.

-I was told that if the news

-had come from an official source...

-..I could say that.

-I had to break the news knowing that

-there were listeners in Wales...

-..or wherever they were listening...

-..that they had fans, relatives

-and friends at the game.

-What did they think?

-You had to be very sensitive.

-I don't think

-we said very much at all.

-Both of us couldn't believe

-what we were seeing.

-We thought it was a pitch invasion

-so we went into the dressing room.

-We heard shouting

-and Kenny went out.

-"Kenny, people are dying out there."

-We heard all of this.

-Upstairs, on the TV, we could see

-what was going on. It was a shock.

-There were police officers

-pounding the chests of young kids.

-That was to their credit.

-However, there must

-have been another 200...

-..across the halfway line,

-doing absolutely nothing.

-Every big event has

-an operational order for policing.

-If you look at

-the operational orders...

-..both for 1989 and 1988...

-..1989 was a replica of '88

-even down to the spelling mistakes.

-There's not a word on ground safety.

-There's not a word on crowd safety.

-It's all about crowd control.

-I've been to enough matches to know

-that the police standing there...

-..is to stop opposing fans meeting.

-Looking back, the minutes

-and seconds that passed...

-..what they could have done

-at Leppings Lane.

-It takes several minutes

-before ambulances are mobilised...

-..ambulances arrive.

-There's no organisation because no

-emergency plan had been activated.

-Every major event has an emergency

-plan and an activation point.

-None of that occurred.

-People are picked up, carried

-on hoardings, mainly by fans.

-It's complete chaos.

-It was a very surreal feeling...

-..but it was as if

-I had my head underwater.

-I could hear things

-but I couldn't make sense of it all.

-Everything was odd.

-Seeing these people

-ripping up advertising boards...

-..carrying people,

-trying to administer CPR.

-I did nothing but stand and watch.

-There was nothing to assist

-in the rescue.

-No defibrillators,

-no oxygen was available...

-..it all came down to people like

-you and I bending over bodies...

-..and trying to breathe air

-into lifeless lungs.

-You only have minutes to resuscitate

-somebody in that condition.

-I'd gone to a football match.

-I didn't expect to see things

-like that in a football match.

-It was like a nightmare.

-It was hard to say if you were

-seeing dead bodies in front of you.

-I could just see lifeless bodies.

-I wasn't sure

-if they were dead or not.

-They probably were but at the time

-you didn't want to think they were.

-You could see the supporters...

-..looking helplessly

-at their friends in front of them.

-I wasn't sure what I was seeing.

-Graham Kelly, the secretary

-of the Football Association...

-..comes into the control box and

-asks Duckenfield what is going on.

-He says Liverpool fans

-broke the door.

-They broke the exit gate C

-and rushed into the stadium.

-Not only did they not arrive late...

-..not only did they

-not break down the door...

-..they never rushed.

-They walked.

-It's there on his own CCTV.

-Back then, there was no way

-of contacting someone.

-There were no mobile phones.

-There was no Facebook,

-Twitter or Snapchat.

-I'd gone. "I'll see you tonight."

-That was the message.

-When I phoned home and spoke to Mam,

-I sensed the relief in her voice.

-She'd seen on TV

-someone with a jersey like mine.

-When I was on the phone,

-Dylan's mother was in Mam's house.

-She asked about Dylan and we said

-he wasn't with us at that time.

-I was trying to say it in a way

-that didn't cause panic.

-We'd seen Nain and Taid

-the previous week.

-We'd planned to go out for a spin

-in the car for an hour or two.

-We put the radio on and heard

-that the game had been stopped...

-..because something

-had happened on the pitch.

-I was thinking about Dylan.

-He'd said he'd try to swap

-the tickets and that bothered me.

-I managed to find a phone in

-a flower shop outside the stadium.

-I phoned home

-to confirm I was alright.

-We have to be grateful

-to the people of Sheffield.

-What they did that day,

-they opened their doors.

-Houses, shops, everything, if you

-wanted to phone home to allay fears.

-Not everyone was able

-to make that call.

-The rendezvous point that we'd

-arranged to meet on Halifax Road...

-..all I wanted was to see Chris.

-As I looked up,

-there was Jason, Chris' mate.

-Steven and Paul. There was no Chris.

-Jason said to me, I said,

-"Where's Chris?"

-He said, "Barry, you're gonna

-have to expect the worst."

-I said, "What do you mean, the

-worst?" He said, "Chris is dead."

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-The journey home from Sheffield,

-back over the Pennines...

-..was so difficult.

-One of British football's greatest

-tragedies happened at 3.07pm.

-The police stories

-were spreading by then.

-They claimed fans had broken down

-a gate, rushed into the stadium...

-Unfortunately for some,

-it was too late.

-Blankets and coats were placed

-over the faces of many.

-The radio was on in the car.

-We heard how many had died.

-It's 10, 15, 20, 30, 40...

-..it's 50.

-We had an old-fashioned radio

-in the car.

-I wanted to switch it off.

-If we switched the radio off,

-the number wouldn't rise anymore.

-In 1988, we returned home with

-our scarves flying outside the car.

-Horns blaring, everyone in a

-good mood - we were off to Wembley.

-This year,

-the story was completely different.

-It felt like a black cloud

-was following us all the way home.

-Alun, how are you? Are you OK?

-How are you keeping? Are you OK?

-Nice to see you.

-I remember walking down the tunnel

-hearing the fans singing.

-I thought I'd get

-a better view behind the goal.

-I headed that way.

-You know, get it on, yeah.

-I was standing

-in front of a barrier.

-This lad was standing next to me

-and he had a young boy with him.

-He said to me,

-"There's something wrong here.

-"Help me push back

-so I can pick the boy up."

-It was quite a job at that time.

-That was a good quarter of an hour

-before it happened.

-I remember him telling the boy

-to go over the top, to get away.

-He did go but he came back crying.

-I remember him crying.

-People behind me were saying,

-"Help him, do something."

-I couldn't raise a finger,

-let alone anything else.

-I was stuck.

-I was stuck, stuck by the barrier.

-I couldn't move an inch.

-Nothing.

-There's a lot of guilt, but...

-I still don't know

-what happened to that little boy.

-The man next to me,

-I remember when I was pulled out...

-..I could see blood pouring

-from his nose and eyes.

-He'd been crushed.

-He didn't make it.

-Did you think you'd die there?

-What I remember...

-..I was haemorrhaging,

-blood was pouring out of my nose.

-Naturally, you'd wipe your face

-but I couldn't raise a finger.

-When I was halfway out,

-the barrier behind me collapsed.

-That's when I felt my ribs,

-like a pack of cards, just...

-It's something I'm trying to forget.

-It's difficult.

-It is difficult.

-I was going

-in and out of consciousness.

-I thought it was just a dream.

-I could hear screaming

-and shouting.

-Lots of swearing.

-I remember lying

-on one of the advertising boards.

-Waheels of Sheffield or something.

-I remember that.

-I was face down.

-Looking down.

-There were bodies to the side.

-There was one,

-he was a bigger lad than me.

-He was lying

-with his arms up like that.

-A coat over his face.

-Your brain is trying to forget

-what happened.

-Trying to put it in a cupboard

-and close the door.

-There are things, small things,

-that bring it back to you.

-Wherever you put it,

-wherever the cupboard...

-..it's always there.

-Yes, yes, it doesn't matter.

-It always comes back to you.

-It's there for you, it'll never go.

-It'll never go.

-The shock, more than anything,

-was how easy someone could die.

-Too many people in one place...

-..squeezing the life

-out of each other.

-I was lucky but because I was lucky,

-someone else was less fortunate.

-They had the ticket

-I'd had the previous year.

-It was the first day

-I'd ventured out with my daughter.

-She'd only be a few weeks old.

-I decided to go to Bolton, shopping.

-By the time I got home,

-there was a bit of a panic going on.

-Our Andrew

-was at the football match.

-He was a big lad, as a security

-guard he could take care of himself.

-He often went to football matches.

-I can't say at that point

-I was perturbed.

-It had been drummed into us

-as children...

-..whether we were arriving

-or leaving somewhere...

-..to give Mum three rings.

-No rings came

-so it became more troubling.

-My mum and my dad and my husband

-set off across the Pennines.

-We went to the first hospital. The

-people were absolutely hysterical.

-I shouted out above everybody...

-.."Do you have a young man wearing

-a Welsh international rugby shirt?"

-They said no.

-I said, "Do you have a Christopher

-Devonside?" They said no.

-We went to another hospital

-and it was the same scenario.

-Six hours after leaving the stadium

-to search for his son...

-..Barry Devonside was called back

-to the stadium's gym...

-..where the bodies of most

-of the dead were being kept.

-We went inside and they brought

-Chris in a body bag and opened it.

-I bent down to kiss his forehead.

-A police officer got hold of me

-and pulled me back.

-I turned around and shoved him.

-How dare he invade my space

-in a situation like this?

-My husband identified

-three different people...

-..and finally it was the third one

-that was Andrew.

-He told my mum

-he thought it was Andrew.

-She wanted to identify Andrew...

-..but only made it so far down

-the corridor and my mum collapsed.

-Two higher ranking police officers

-were walking down the corridor...

-..having a conversation

-and stepped over her...

-..and carried on walking.

-The vast, vast majority

-of the families...

-..would be very hard pushed

-to find any kindnesses that night.

-The Coroner, Dr Stefan Popper...

-..decided to test the blood

-alcohol level of each body...

-..including a 10-year-old boy.

-The first question

-they were asked was...

-..had their loved one been drinking?

-He said, "We're trying to build up

-a picture of everybody's day.

-"Did you stop on the way

-to have a meal and a drink?"

-I said, "What's that got to do

-with identification?"

-He asked me five questions

-and every answer I gave was...

-.."What's that got to do

-with identification?"

-To be interrogated as if

-in some way your loved one or you...

-..had some sort of bad reputation

-was just dreadful.

-The disaster is people dying.

-The tragedy was the way the bereaved

-families and survivors were treated.

-I was petrified

-of what Jackie was going to say.

-Many years ago, she said,

-when I first started taking Chris...

-.."If you bring Chris home hurt,

-me and you will have a problem."

-And I wasn't bringing Chris home.

-And...

-She opened the door,

-she was waiting for me.

-We just threw our arms

-around each other.

-She never said a word

-about what she'd said years ago.

-Cheek to cheek and she said to me...

-.."There's 17 dead so far, Barry."

-I said,

-"Jack, there's 81 dead so far."

-We went in

-and all the relatives were there.

-I didn't want to speak to anybody.

-I just wanted Chris back home.

-The next morning, Margaret Thatcher

-arrived with Douglas Hurd.

-When I challenged Bernard Ingham,

-the Press Secretary...

-..with regard to what

-had happened in that meeting...

-..he said, "I know what I learned

-there on the day.

-"That Liverpool fans

-broke into the stadium."

-In other words, Liverpool fans

-killed Liverpool people.

-Now who did he learn that from?

-There were no fans

-or doctors talking to him.

-It was senior police officers...

-..and most significantly,

-the Chief Constable Peter Wright.

-Anfield became the focal point

-for grief.

-Kenny Dalglish took his

-Liverpool squad to the hospitals...

-..to visit those hurt

-in Leppings Lane...

-..and also to the funerals.

-While Liverpool and their families

-buried their supporters...

-..a story was emerging

-from Sheffield.

-I'm sick of seeing on television

-these instant experts...

-..telling us that if there'd been

-police inside those gates...

-..funnelling people

-into the outer areas...

-..this wouldn't have happened.

-I'm saying to you

-that if police had been in there...

-..when this mob surged through...

-..the officers

-would've been trampled to death.

-Certain members of the police,

-plus the local MP, Irvine Patnick...

-..plus the head

-of the Police Federation...

-..had approached journalists

-and given them a story...

-..that Liverpool fans

-had stolen from the dead...

-..that Liverpool fans had broken in

-and violence had cause the disaster.

-Kelvin MacKenzie wanted

-that headline to be You Scum.

-I've supported Liverpool

-for 30 years.

-I'm not claiming

-that Liverpool fans are angels...

-..but they would never do

-such a thing.

-What was said about them

-was shameful.

-Can you imagine a human being doing

-things a newspaper said about them?

-That was more shocking than the

-lies - that people believed them.

-In the days that followed...

-..Arwel and I spoke

-and we decided to raise money.

-I visited the offices

-of a local newspaper in Pwllheli.

-A woman stood behind me

-in the queue.

-She said,

-"Aren't those hooligans a disgrace?"

-I asked her why

-she was saying something like that.

-"I didn't mean you, Dylan,"

-she replied.

-She meant someone else.

-That's the message

-that reached Pwllheli...

-..a few days after the tragedy.

-The Sun was so confident

-in their story.

-It changed the entire view

-of Hillsborough...

-..in the national consciousness.

-We went from people feeling empathy

-towards those who died...

-..to feeling absolute abhorrence to

-Liverpool fans and Liverpool people.

-West Midlands Police were appointed

-to conduct an external inquiry...

-..with Lord Justice Taylor

-leading the official investigation.

-Taylor found that police failure

-was mostly to blame for the tragedy.

-He criticised them

-for blaming the supporters.

-The inquest into the deaths

-opened in November 1990.

-Coroner Dr Stefan Popper found

-that all those who died...

-..suffered their mortal injuries

-before 3.15pm.

-It was a contentious decision

-which meant that...

-..the emergency services' response

-after that time was not scrutinised.

-During the inquest...

-..the police continued

-to criticise the Liverpool fans.

-We see allegations

-around drunkenness...

-..allegations around ticketless,

-violence and late arrival.

-They were the four pillars

-of the police case.

-That was played out

-in what was then...

-..the longest inquest

-in legal history.

-Ignoring the findings

-of Lord Justice Taylor...

-..the inquest's verdict in

-March 1991 was 'accidental death'.

-When that came back

-as accidental death...

-..that was just stunning, really.

-That was probably the point

-at which it became really obvious...

-..that this was a real fight.

-In 1991, David Duckenfield

-faced a disciplinary case.

-When he retired early on a full

-pension, the case wasn't pursued.

-Five years later,

-Professor Phil Scraton discovered...

-..that the evidence

-of many officers at Hillsborough...

-..had been doctored and altered...

-..to omit any criticism

-of the police on the day.

-What I realised at that point...

-..was that Lord Justice Taylor knew,

-the Home Office knew...

-..all the investigating bodies

-knew...

-..the investigating force knew,

-they all knew.

-It's not one-off, it's systemic.

-It's institutionalised.

-That was the discovery.

-I knew that as soon as I saw it.

-In 1997, Lord Justice Stuart-Smith

-was appointed...

-..to scrutinise the evidence

-for the new Labour government.

-Despite the findings

-of Professor Phil Scraton...

-..he rejected an appeal

-to quash the inquest's findings.

-It was noted that no basis existed

-to open a new case.

-The next step was a private

-prosecution for manslaughter...

-..against Duckenfield

-and Bernard Murray in 2000.

-The jury failed to reach a decision

-against Duckenfield...

-..who refused to give evidence.

-Murray was found not guilty.

-The South Yorkshire Police

-Authority paid their court costs.

-There are two elements -

-what happened on the day...

-..and the 25 years and more

-of pain...

-..lies and vilification and that's

-been a burden for Liverpool fans.

-"You did it.

-"You broke in, you didn't have

-tickets, you were drunk and so on."

-Had people been drinking?

-Yes, of course.

-It happens in every game

-and at every occasion.

-But... that doesn't mean...

-..they killed their own supporters.

-I couldn't believe...

-..that here we were in 2000

-with all this evidence...

-..and we were now entering a decade

-where nothing happened.

-This is when you start to see

-other family members dying.

-You see survivors taking their own

-lives, survivors not being believed.

-It was total despondency.

-I can't tell you what the real

-number is of people who died...

-..as a direct consequence of

-what they endured at Hillsborough...

-..or after Hillsborough.

-.

-Subtitles

-Subtitles

-

-Subtitles

-The guilt I feel,

-it's not there every day...

-..but it's there

-in the subconsciousness.

-I'm guilty of being lucky.

-I'm guilty of having a ticket

-in a different place.

-I'm guilty that I stood there

-and did nothing to help anyone.

-I just stood, silently,

-like a statue.

-I feel guilty sometimes

-that I'm sharing my feelings.

-I haven't grieved, I didn't

-lose anyone, I wasn't injured.

-I feel guilty because it feels

-as if I'm craving attention...

-..but that's not true.

-I feel guilty that I'm still saying

-that we need to fight for justice...

-..when it didn't affect my life.

-I was there, I'm a Liverpool fan.

-A lot more people have suffered

-a lot more than I have.

-I feel guilty.

-I feel guilty for feeling guilty.

-It can tear you apart.

-Liverpool is close to our hearts

-in North Wales.

-Close to our spirit.

-It's a no-nonsense city. If there's

-something to say, it will be said.

-Thank goodness for that.

-A lot of people would have given up.

-Never pick on the people of

-Liverpool because they'll come back.

-It's an amazing city.

-They did pick on the wrong people.

-They're unbelievable.

-Annual Hillsborough Memorial Service

-April 15, 2009

-20 years after the tragedy,

-a politician was invited...

-..for the first time to speak at the

-annual memorial service in Anfield.

-We can pledge that 96 fellow

-football supporters who died...

-..will never be forgotten.

-Justice.

-And he asks us to think

-at this time...

-Andy Burnham, the Culture Secretary,

-received a simple message.

-# Justice for the 96

-# Justice for the 96

-# Justice for the 96

-# Justice for the 96

-# Justice for the 96 #

-He promised to release every

-document to try and find the truth.

-The independent Hillsborough panel

-was set up...

-..to examine almost

-half a million documents...

-..led by the Archbishop of Liverpool

-and Professor Phil Scraton.

-Their findings were published

-on September 12, 2012.

-It was a beautiful

-September morning.

-I stood on the steps

-of the Anglican cathedral.

-I looked across my city

-and the river.

-I knew this was a defining

-moment in their lives and my life.

-I guess, at that moment,

-I knew history had been made.

-What I didn't anticipate

-was all that came after.

-The panel concluded

-that the authorities were to blame.

-There was no foundation to

-allegations against the supporters.

-A better response

-by the emergency services...

-..could have saved 40 lives.

-The results of the first inquest,

-of accidental death, was quashed.

-A new inquest was opened

-in Warrington and lasted two years.

-The jury's decision

-on April 26, 2016...

-..was that failures by the police

-and authorities led to the tragedy.

-The behaviour of the supporters

-was not a contributing factor.

-The 96 had been unlawfully killed.

-# You'll never walk alone #

-When the verdicts came through,

-it was as if emotionally...

-..I went scrunch...

-..gone.

-And from that minute on, it went.

-All the... all the angst, all the

-pressure, all the feeling of duty...

-..the feeling of burden

-that came with being...

-..the last standing member

-to represent Andrew in that way...

-..all just went.

-When justice was finally done,

-that was a good feeling.

-You just wanted to say,

-"Well, we told you so."

-I was walking through Liverpool

-and a guy threw his arms around me.

-I didn't know him and he said,

-"For the first time in 27 years...

-"..I walk through this city

-with my head held high."

-And that was a person

-who'd survived Hillsborough.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-

-Cuppa? I've made one already.

-27 years have passed...

-..but I've never spoken openly

-about my feelings with Mam and Dad.

-I don't want to bother them.

-It might be easier

-to shut things out.

-Every time he talks about it,

-he starts to well up.

-I think it's really affected him.

-He still feels that way,

-that feeling of guilt.

-He came away unscathed

-and others didn't.

-He still relives that moment.

-The campaign of the families

-for justice continues.

-The decision to prosecute

-individuals or institutions...

-..is in the hands

-of the Crown Prosecution Service.

-Almost 28 years since the tragedy...

-..time will tell

-if people will wake up...

-..from the long nightmare

-of Hillsborough.

-It's something that will leave

-a mark on me forever...

-..but it didn't stop me

-going to support Liverpool.

-Deep down, you'll have them scars

-for the rest of your life.

-It's something that you've seen

-and something that will be there.

-It's 27, 28 years. It's a hell

-of a long time not to give up.

-They won't. Even though they've won

-the case, there's more to come.

-It still won't bring back

-their loved ones.

-I think there's an idea somehow...

-..that being forever young...

-..is something to be desired.

-Actually, there's nothing to be

-desired of being forever young.

-You don't experience life.

-I miss...

-I miss what he didn't become.

-I miss him every single day.

-I think about him

-morning, noon and night.

-There's no way their lives

-should have been snuffed out...

-..in the way that it did.

-Chris was everything

-to Jackie and I.

-We will never, as a family,

-get over losing Chris.

-I think things are easier since

-the inquest jury cleared us...

-..of the allegation that

-we killed 96 of our own supporters.

-Families have proven that it's

-possible for the small person...

-..to overcome the big institutions

-by standing their ground.

-There might be a lesson

-for us all there.

-We were right.

-We told the truth

-right from the start.

-S4C Subtitles by Adnod Cyf.

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