What a fucking disgrace.
I’m shocked, can’t even begin to imagine the anger for the families.
I’m shocked, can’t even begin to imagine the anger for the families.
Hillsborough trial: Men acquitted as judge rules no case to answer
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Two retired police officers and an ex-solicitor accused of altering police statements after the Hillsborough disaster have been acquitted.
Retired Ch Supt Donald Denton, retired Det Ch Insp Alan Foster and former solicitor Peter Metcalf had denied perverting the course of justice.
Mr Justice William Davis ruled they had no case to answer.
Margaret Aspinall, whose son James died in the disaster, said the ruling was "an absolute mockery" and a "shambles".
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"We're always the losers no matter what the outcome today," she said.
Ninety-six Liverpool fans died as a result of the crush at the FA Cup semi-final match at Sheffield Wednesday's ground on 15 April 1989.
Mr Denton, Mr Foster and Mr Peter Metcalf were accused of trying to minimise the blame placed on South Yorkshire Police in the aftermath of the disaster by altering statements.
However, the judge said the statements had been prepared for the public inquiry chaired by Lord Taylor in 1990.
He said this was not a statutory inquiry and therefore not considered "a court of law", so it was not a "course of public justice" which could be perverted.
Prosecutor Sarah Whitehouse QC said they would not seek leave to appeal against the judge's decision.
image captionNinety-six Liverpool fans died as a result of the disaster on 15 April 1989
Ms Aspinall, the former chair of the recently disbanded Hillsborough Family Support Group, said it was the "angriest I have ever really felt".
"They have had five years to sort it out to bring the best statements forward. They only brought a certain few statements," she said.
"What angers me, all the money it has cost this country. The taxpayers' money. For this to happen at the end, what a shambles, what a disgrace."
Mary Corrigan, whose 17-year-old son Keith McGrath died in the tragedy, said she was "so angry".
She also criticised the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for their lack of support for the families of victims during the proceedings.
Liverpool FC said the decision was a "huge disappointment", adding the Hillsborough victims had been "let down yet again".
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who has campaigned with the Hillsborough families, said the ruling was "a disgrace and so disrespectful to the families".
He added: "Why was it not left to the jury to decide?
"I can only conclude that the scales of justice in this country are weighed heavily against ordinary people."
Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram tweeted: "My thoughts are once again with the families of the 96 today, who face yet another kick in the teeth."
media caption"This is the angriest I've ever really felt"
Sue Hemming, from the CPS, said they were "right to bring this case and for a court to hear the evidence of what happened in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster".
"What has been heard here in this court will have been surprising to many," she said.
"That a publicly funded authority can lawfully withhold information from a public inquiry charged with finding out why 96 people died at a football match, in order to ensure that it never happened again - or that a solicitor can advise such a withholding, without sanction of any sort - may be a matter which should be subject to scrutiny."
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."
Mr Denton, 83, of Sheffield; Mr Foster, 74, of Harrogate; and Mr Metcalf, 71, of Ilkley, had all denied two counts of perverting the course of justice.
The three men had been on trial at the Nightingale Court at the Lowry Theatre in Salford for more than four weeks.
Retired Ch Supt Donald Denton, retired Det Ch Insp Alan Foster and former solicitor Peter Metcalf had denied perverting the course of justice.
Mr Justice William Davis ruled they had no case to answer.
Margaret Aspinall, whose son James died in the disaster, said the ruling was "an absolute mockery" and a "shambles".
ADVERTISEMENT
"We're always the losers no matter what the outcome today," she said.
Ninety-six Liverpool fans died as a result of the crush at the FA Cup semi-final match at Sheffield Wednesday's ground on 15 April 1989.
Mr Denton, Mr Foster and Mr Peter Metcalf were accused of trying to minimise the blame placed on South Yorkshire Police in the aftermath of the disaster by altering statements.
However, the judge said the statements had been prepared for the public inquiry chaired by Lord Taylor in 1990.
He said this was not a statutory inquiry and therefore not considered "a court of law", so it was not a "course of public justice" which could be perverted.
Prosecutor Sarah Whitehouse QC said they would not seek leave to appeal against the judge's decision.
image captionNinety-six Liverpool fans died as a result of the disaster on 15 April 1989
Ms Aspinall, the former chair of the recently disbanded Hillsborough Family Support Group, said it was the "angriest I have ever really felt".
"They have had five years to sort it out to bring the best statements forward. They only brought a certain few statements," she said.
"What angers me, all the money it has cost this country. The taxpayers' money. For this to happen at the end, what a shambles, what a disgrace."
Mary Corrigan, whose 17-year-old son Keith McGrath died in the tragedy, said she was "so angry".
She also criticised the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for their lack of support for the families of victims during the proceedings.
Liverpool FC said the decision was a "huge disappointment", adding the Hillsborough victims had been "let down yet again".
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who has campaigned with the Hillsborough families, said the ruling was "a disgrace and so disrespectful to the families".
He added: "Why was it not left to the jury to decide?
"I can only conclude that the scales of justice in this country are weighed heavily against ordinary people."
Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram tweeted: "My thoughts are once again with the families of the 96 today, who face yet another kick in the teeth."
media caption"This is the angriest I've ever really felt"
Sue Hemming, from the CPS, said they were "right to bring this case and for a court to hear the evidence of what happened in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster".
"What has been heard here in this court will have been surprising to many," she said.
"That a publicly funded authority can lawfully withhold information from a public inquiry charged with finding out why 96 people died at a football match, in order to ensure that it never happened again - or that a solicitor can advise such a withholding, without sanction of any sort - may be a matter which should be subject to scrutiny."
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."
Mr Denton, 83, of Sheffield; Mr Foster, 74, of Harrogate; and Mr Metcalf, 71, of Ilkley, had all denied two counts of perverting the course of justice.
The three men had been on trial at the Nightingale Court at the Lowry Theatre in Salford for more than four weeks.
The cops lied to the inquiry. The inquiry says how dare you accuse them of lying, this is a good faith process that all parties want to get to the truth, such serious allegations belong in a court, we're not here to punish people, wah wah wah, we're here to learn lessons.
The families make the accusation in court. The judge says they're not serious enough for this court, it was just an inquiry, nothing the court can do about it, it's not a crime wah wah wah, case dismissed.
At some point you have to just reach for a baseball bat and take care of it over a weekend with little to no cost for the taxpayer.
The families make the accusation in court. The judge says they're not serious enough for this court, it was just an inquiry, nothing the court can do about it, it's not a crime wah wah wah, case dismissed.
At some point you have to just reach for a baseball bat and take care of it over a weekend with little to no cost for the taxpayer.
Obviously the worst bit was the actual day, but then reading my fabricated statement a few years ago just killed me. I felt this horrible sense of embarrassment that anyone would believe that's what I'd told the police. I only got half way through it and wouldn't be able to read it again.
No surprise. The cover up and blame shifting began before there were even 96 dead. The shit I’ve been told by the lads that pulled me out when i was unconscious is unbelievable. I’ve dealt personally with this shit for over 30 years now. I am determined to not let it fuck me up again.
thoughts & _____ (whatever else you prefer as I know prayers are not what you like)
Stay strong, and healthy, brother.
It felt like someone might finally be held to account.
Utter, utter disgrace. Because the statements were made to a public enquiry rather than to a court, they didn't count towards "the course of public justice"? The former police solicitor's brief, one Jonathan Goldberg QC, was on Five Live earlier frothing at the mouth about how terrible it was that old men like his client had been dragged unnecessarily through the courts, and peddling the old, old lie about Liverpool fans' conduct leading to the deaths. An Establishment stitch-up in glorious Technicolor, in other words. The whole thing is beneath contempt.
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I went on a coach with 55 people on it and came home with 30. The police came and took my statement. I was seriously ill, I'd been in the gym with the bodies identifying my mates. The statement on record began with something to the effect of everyone I was with was very drunk. I was fifteen, everyone I was with was fifteen. It was a total fabrication. I know what I said. I'd been to Hillsborough before and I argued with the police and stewards and asked them to let us into the other pens. It's an absolute pack of lies
I'm not after sympathy. I'm just saying that the police lie. And they keep lying. And they'll lie about anyone. Yesterday's ruling is bewildering. It states that the police don't have to pass evidence to a public enquiry, because a public enquiry is not a judicial issue, so they are within their rights to lie. Seriously. Not that the police did or did not lie. That they're allowed to lie
I'm not after sympathy. I'm just saying that the police lie. And they keep lying. And they'll lie about anyone. Yesterday's ruling is bewildering. It states that the police don't have to pass evidence to a public enquiry, because a public enquiry is not a judicial issue, so they are within their rights to lie. Seriously. Not that the police did or did not lie. That they're allowed to lie
All slagging and insults aside on this site, this stuff is heartbreaking and enraging all rolled up into one. It’s beggars belief. 🙁
Of all the memories that aren't too horrible, there was this dude in the crowd who came in with me and he was a pure guns and roses lookalike. I thought his cowboy boots were dead cool. I was probs one of the last people out of the stadium because I'd been dragged round the gym looking at dead people, but I left through the leppings lane, same way I'd entered, and I saw his boots and his jacket and shirt on the floor. Don't think I've ever said that before but it was really terrible. In the stands there were metal barriers every few feet and just before it got completely mental I ducked under one. When I woke up on the pitch I didn't think about the significance of that decision, but when I left the place I saw these boots behind the same fence I'd been stood behind that was now seventy degrees forward. It was a lottery.
Mate, I didn’t realise we were so close together that day. I woke up a few days later in Royal Hallamshire ITU. We must have been just a few feet apart. A lottery is right. I have no recollection of the day after leaving my old man by the main stand. For years I had no recollection of the day at all but it gradually came back. I met the lad that saved my life once a few years back in The Liverpool. Gary Reavey. It was mad. We got royally pissed. It’s odd that when you sorted that ticket for me once and came out of the Kenny to give it to me (I was really late, fucking M6) that we had no idea. Next time I’ll be giving you a fucking big hug man.
Hope it helps even just a bit to dump some of it on here.
I'm not knowledgeable enough about the law to criticise the specific ruling, but there's a strong suspicion that this legal process was outlined in advance, and they have intentionally exploited a loophole in the law to cover this up. The idea that 96 deaths were ruled unlawful, but nobody is criminally accountable is laughable. The idea that Police can falsify statements without repercussions even more abhorrent. Any Prime Minister worth his salt would request a legal review and assess how we reached this point, but it won't happen. Senior Politicians likely attended Eton with the Judges. It's all elite sect. The fact the nation can fight families with the best QC's in the land, whilst offering them a pittance of legal aid to compete shows the contempt given Joe Bloggs in our legal system. The system is unfair by design.
The aftermath of Hillsborough is a demonstration of everything that's wrong with England, and why I think anyone displaying any patriotic thoughts or gestures to this nation is generally a massive tory knobhead.
Hillsborough remains a permanent shit stain on the very fabric of this nation.
The aftermath of Hillsborough is a demonstration of everything that's wrong with England, and why I think anyone displaying any patriotic thoughts or gestures to this nation is generally a massive tory knobhead.
Hillsborough remains a permanent shit stain on the very fabric of this nation.
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I was so lucky - me & my mates climbed out of the central pen, before kick off - something we would never normally do, but which maybe saved our lives.
What was devastating was that we ended up in the left hand side pen, a few metres away from the central one, yet there were yards of space all around us. The whole afternoon was just one bad decision after another by the authorities - funnelling everyone into the central pen and having it completely fenced off from the side pens (which were still part of our end) was just one of them.
Bad decision after bad decision followed by cover up & lies 🙁
What was devastating was that we ended up in the left hand side pen, a few metres away from the central one, yet there were yards of space all around us. The whole afternoon was just one bad decision after another by the authorities - funnelling everyone into the central pen and having it completely fenced off from the side pens (which were still part of our end) was just one of them.
Bad decision after bad decision followed by cover up & lies 🙁
I’m surprised he took it.
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