The Truth

Well what a day it has been. The Hillsborough Independent Panel delivered its report today and after having a quite detailed skim through it (http://hillsborough.independent.gov.uk/ if anyone’s interested) it does at time make quite uncomfortable reading.

I must admit, I had been slightly unsure of what the general verdict would be. This is probably not helped by the fact I was not even born at the time of the disaster and don't live in Liverpool. I feared that if legitimate documentation stated that Liverpool fans were partly to blame for this tragedy then it would not be accepted by the people of Liverpool, thus blurring the quest for justice.

Thank god that this has proved not to be the case, but now finally in its place is the truth. The whole truth. More than 100 police documents altered. The potential for 41 lives to be saved if it were not for the failures of the emergency services. Inaccurate briefings, first from South Yorkshire police to the government of the day, then from Local MPs to media outlets. It is truly shocking that senior figures of authority had the nerve to cover up so much vital information simply to cover their own backs when 96 families had to grieve & bury relatives as young as 8 years old.

Quite a few apologies have been issued today most notably by the Sun. Whilst, I suppose quite justifiably the families of the dead are not really interested in what they now have to say, I will give the Sun's editor a little bit of credit for facing the issue head on. As far as I am aware the majority of people who now work at the Sun (and South Yorkshire Police for that matter) were not working there at the times of the disaster so must not be shown any disdain by any angry people now searching for justice. The two people who I wouldn't give any time of day to are Kelvin Mackensie & David Duckenfield. I know Mackensie apologised today but it is very out of tune with his public utterance over recent year. Meanwhile Duckenfield is nowhere to be seen & to my knowledge he is still alive. Why can't he come out and say sorry for this sorry episode which ultimately destroyed his career!

As I've already stated I was not born at the time of the disaster. But since becoming a Liverpool supporter I have gradually learnt about it & what the fallout was. Perhaps the saddest thing about Hillsborough was that it took a tragedy like that to make football stadia what they are today. Safe, along with some of the best medical equipment in the world. Whatever football club you support, I think it is right that you know about Hillsborough. However harrowing it might, it is important to know about it as quite possibly it has turned out to be one of the reasons that football stadia is now a safe place to be. Even though Taylor report has been largely discredited today, its recommendations for improvement to football stadia remain valid & important.

On a quick side note, I saw a tweet earlier asking a small minority of Manchester United & Chelsea to stop chanting "Hillsborough" at matches. I totally agree with that, but it has to work both ways, as a stupid minority of Liverpool fans chant "Munich" at games. Please stop. It's sickening that some people can be that way.

Anyway, it is now time to step back. For 23 years the whole city of Liverpool, has united behind the efforts of the bereaved families to get justice for their loved ones. Now that we have the truth, it must be left to the authorities to do their work and subsequently for justice to take its course. Hopefully within the year this shall be all done & Liverpool as a whole will be able to move on.

I'd like to finish this post by saying well done to everyone who campaigned for the truth and I'm glad that the truth has come out. But there is one man who needs thanking more than most for his conduct in the days after the Hillsborough disaster. Kenny Dalglish. He went to every single funeral, made speeches acted as a counsellor & generally held the whole City together during its darkest days. So thank you King Kenny. And thank you all who believed in Liverpool fans version of event & realised that they were the ones not the Sun or the Police that were telling the truth.

If one thing can be taken that is truly positive from the past 23 years of this sorry tale is this. At Liverpool Football Club, whatever the circumstances may be You Will Never Walk Alone.