Hillsborough

Today was a massive day for the families who finally got the verdict that they always knew was correct. In the last few years there’s been so many people asking why Hillsborough is still in the public eye, as if it was all some attention seeking scheme by the families and those who have spent 27 years seeking justice. I’ve seen and heard so many people complaining about seeing Hillsborough in the news “again” or having to observe a minutes silence before a match “again”. Opposition supporters have sang “always the victims, it’s never your fault” and labelled Liverpool “self pity city” like there is some shame to be had for standing up for your own and pursuing Justice.

I remember in 2006 Liverpool played Arsenal in a cup game on the BBC, it was labelled “Truth Day” and was set up by the supporters and the HJC (Hillsborough Justice Campaign). Fans held up a mosaic on the Kop showing “THE TRUTH” and chanted justice for the 96 for the first 6 minutes of the game, six minutes being relevant as it was six minutes into the game on April 15th 1989 when the referee halted the match. Co-commentator Mark Lawrenson, Liverpool player from '81 to '88, asked dismissively at the end of the 6 minutes: “can we get on with the football now?” On the 20^th anniversary of the disaster when the Kop as one chanted for justice as Andy Burnham (then secretary of state for culture, media and sport, now known better for being pipped by Corbyn for Labour leader) addressed them at the service, some people, even other Liverpool fans, argued it was in bad taste.

Today was vindication for the tireless campaigning for justice. Without their bravery, persistence and refusal to lie down after smear after smear, false dawn after false dawn, and heartache after heartache there would have been no ruling of unlawful killing today. In fact, without it to this day the official line would probably still be that drunk and ticketless Liverpool fans killed their own. It has all spoken volumes of the cynical nature of so many people, and I am so pleased for the families and survivors that their tenacity has finally paid off. They should never be ashamed of the work they have done over the last 27 years.

Despite the great news today there is still more to do. The possibility of proper punishment being handed out to SYP looms and until the dust settles on that then we won’t know the true extent of the cover up, although much shocking evidence is already freely available. 

There are, however, still one or two myths prevailing. One of the questions put to the jury was whether the behaviour of Liverpool fans contributed in any way to the disaster.

Firstly, I don’t understand why this was even one of the questions put to the jury. Liverpool fans have been exonerated for a long time and including this question gave the SYP the opportunity to continue to lie about their statements from the day, many of which were found to have been doctored and heavily edited at the request of senior members of the force. Of course, the SYP is now rushing to apologise for all that happened on that day but even during this trial they continued to peddle their lies. 

On the "ticketless" issue, the Leppings Lane end where the disaster happened by all measurements was actually under capacity on the day. The disaster wasn’t caused by there being too many people in the stand, rather there were too many people congregated in one area (two "pens" as they were then known) directly behind the goal. The side pens were virtually empty. This situation occurred largely because the police failed to direct people through the crush at the turnstiles, and once through an exit gate opened by the police, the supporters' only obvious option was to head down a tunnel that lead straight to the middle pens. Many reported being lifted off their feet and "swept" down the tunnel due to the sheer release of pressure once the gate opened. They should have been diverted to the less clear routes either side of the tunnel down to the stand, and thus they would have filled up the empty side pens rather than the already full up area in the middle. The fact that the stand was under capacity at a sold out semi final dispells any notion of there being a huge number of people without tickets.

Thankfully, the Jury agreed. But the fact that it was a question deemed worthy of asking in the first place really highlighted to me the affect that those lies in the first few hours after the disaster continue to have.

I guess the point of this long, rambling, after work blog is to pay tribute to those who have campaigned non-stop for 27 years and gotten the results they deserved. It’s a shame on our media, our government and the cynical types amongst the general public that I have talked about that they have faced such a huge uphill battle to get to this point. Some of the most influential campaigners and relatives of the victims have since passed away and never got to see the real, full truth come out. In that respect, while today is a day for relief and respect it is also an extremely sad day too and a time for us all to reflect on just how this all managed to happen and how the lies were allowed to become “the truth”.

Hopefully the lessons learned purely from the aftermath of Hillsborough and the following 27 years must be to never believe the headlines; if you're believing the word of Rupert Murdoch, Kelvin McKenzie and the S*n over grieving, innocent families then you're probably getting it wrong. If you're believing that the Police would never close ranks to stitch up working class people, then you're probably getting it wrong. In fact, if you're taking sides with Jeremy Hunt and the Tories against Junior Doctors who we all rely on to survive then, yep, you're probably getting it wrong. It's time to recognise that we need to stand together and ensure that, never again, should a group of outnumbered but righteous people be allowed to walk alone against the powerful who only wish to protect their own interests.