Hillsborough disaster: One of darkest days in Sheffield's history remembered on 35th anniversary

96 football fans went to a football match in Sheffield and never returned home.

Today, April 15, 2024, marks the 35th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.

We take a look back at the tragic deaths of those football fans, the fight for justice that ensued and how it changed the face of football forever.

The 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest brought thousands of football fans together in Sheffield for what should have been a great sporting occasion and family day out at Hillsborough football stadium.

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Instead, what transpired was something which would destroy families and unite the city of Liverpool with a sense of grief and injustice which remains just as strong today as it did back then.

The disaster would also bring a sense of shame in Sheffield over the actions of South Yorkshire Police on the day and afterwards - a legacy stilll affecting the police force today.

What happened on the day of the Hillsborough disaster?

Thousands of Liverpool fans were still gathered outside Hillsborough football stadium just before kick-off, so match day commander, David Duckenfield, ordered exit gate C on Leppings Lane to be opened in an attempt to ease the crowds.

That fateful decision led to an influx of supporters entering the stadium at that partiuclar point, which funnelled fans into two ‘standing only’ pens, which were fenced off to separate the terraces from the pitch.

There was a catastrophic crush, causing scores of deaths, injuring hundreds more and traumatising countless others.

A total of 94 Liverpool fans died on the day, one in hospital days later, and another in 1993.

In 2021, a coroner ruled that another fan, who died 32 years later after suffering severe and irreversible brain damage on the terraces, was to be recorded as the disaster’s 97th victim.

Inquests into the deaths of the football fans who lost their lives recorded verdicts of accidental death initially.

But the fight for justice launched by the families of the victims was relentless. They demanded the truth and wanted recognition that there had been a cover up to deflect blame. They wanted Liverpool fans absolved of any responsibilty.

Finally in 2009, the then government set up an independent panel to look at all the evidence, paperwork and previously ‘secret’ files in existence to try to uncover exactly what happened and why.

In 2012, the panel’s findings were published and revealed that 164 police statements were altered - 116 of them to remove or change negative comments about the policing of the ill-fated FA Cup semi-final on the day of the disaster.

The panel also found that 41 of the 96 Liverpool fans who died had the "potential to survive".

It concluded that no Liverpool fans were responsible in any way for the disaster.

The panel found that inaccurate and false information from the police was passed to the press, which skewed the way the disaster was reported initially.

New inquests were the ordered and verdicts of unlawful killing were recorded.

The Prime Minister, David Cameron, said it was a "long overdue" but "landmark moment in the quest for justice". The Labour Party described the handling of the Hillsborough disaster as the "greatest miscarriage of justice of our times".

How is the Hillsborough disaster anniversary being marked?

Political parties are being urged to put an end to the "criminal abuse of power" by enacting a law to help victims of major scandals. The call comes as a runner is making his way from Liverpool to London for charity, to coincide with the 35th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster and just two months ahead of the seventh anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Michael Parkin, known as Mik, said while not directly affected by either disaster, he was moved to take action after hearing about the Hillsborough Law campaign and the difference many feel it could make.

His 227-mile charity effort - averaging 30 miles a day across eight days - started on Saturday in Liverpool, and will take in Manchester and Sheffield before finishing at Grenfell Tower in London on April 20.

The 52-year-old avid Liverpool football fan said he believes a new law "could make a massive change", citing the long-running fights for justice victims have endured including those of the Manchester Arena bombings, and the Infected Blood and Post Office Horizon scandals.

The Hillsborough Law, or Public Authority (Accountability) Bill, would include a legal duty of candour on public authorities and officials to tell the truth and proactively co-operate with official investigations and inquiries.

In December, the Government stopped short of introducing the legislation, saying it was "not aware" of any gaps or clarifications needed that would further encourage a culture of candour among public servants in law.

It has signed up to a Hillsborough Charter, pledging to place the public interest above its own reputation.

But campaigners say more is needed "to stop the pattern of cover-ups".

Mr Parkin, originally from Durham but now based in Leeds, said the law could help protect anyone caught up in a disaster through which they were at no fault.

He told the PA news agency: "Everybody who's been affected by this, none of them were doing anything risky at all.

"The Grenfell guys went to bed, the Post Office families went to work and were selling stamps. People went to a football match, people went to a music concert.

"(You) don't expect anything like this to happen and your life turns upside down.

"So not only will it reduce that anguish of getting the truth, it also means when you have the truth, you can change.

"And it means buildings become safer, going to events becomes safer, the machine that is bringing up the wrong numbers gets out of the Post Office years and years earlier, rather than going through the decades of anguish."

Mr Parkin is encouraging the public to write to their MPs urging them to enact the Hillsborough Law.

A spokesperson for the Hillsborough Law campaign, wishing Mr Parkin good luck for his run, said it "serves as a timely reminder in an election year of the need to bring in a Hillsborough law".

They added: "Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to make this law a reality if the Labour Party comes to power, we hope other parties will follow suit and stop this criminal abuse of power."

Mr Parkin said there is a "huge amount of connection felt between the Grenfell community and the Hillsborough community" and he was "thankful" to be part of the campaign to help both.

Grenfell United, representing bereaved and survivors of the fire, said: "Mik's run, passing through Hillsborough on the 35th anniversary and finishing at Grenfell Tower weeks away from the seventh anniversary of the fire, is a powerful way to raise awareness of the Hillsborough Law - a campaign fighting for a new legal duty of candour on public authorities and officials to tell the truth, and to stop the pattern of cover ups.

"We hope Mik's run will bring attention to this long-awaited report and our expectation of the Government to implement the recommendations in full without delay".

Has anyone been held accountable for the Hillsborough disaster?

In 2019, David Duckenfield, the police commander in charge at Hillsborough stadium on the day of the disaster, was found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the deaths of the football fans.

Sue Hemming, CPS Director of Legal Services at the time, said: “The disaster at Hillsborough 30 years ago has caused unimaginable suffering to the families of those who sadly lost their lives and to everybody affected by the tragic events of that day. They were let down with the most catastrophic consequences imaginable. I know how important these proceedings have been to everyone, even though they came far too late.

“The events of 15 April 1989 have been considered on a number of occasions, including at the second inquest concluding in 2016. It is important to remember that criminal proceedings have a very different purpose to an inquest. The not guilty verdict today does not affect or alter the inquest jury’s findings of unlawful killing or their conclusion that Liverpool fans were in no way responsible for the 96 deaths that resulted.

“It was vitally important that the facts and accounts of what happened leading up to that terrible day were heard in a criminal court and the outcome determined by a jury. This was a complex and harrowing case and presenting evidence about events of 30 years ago has not been straightforward.

“We are acutely aware of how disappointing the verdict is for families who have waited anxiously for today, however we respect the decision of the jury. We have remained in regular contact with families throughout the trial and, as we have done at all key stages of these investigations, we will meet with them again to answer any questions they may have.

“On behalf of the team, I would like to commend the ongoing bravery and dignity that the families have shown throughout these two trials and we extend our thanks and admiration to those who courageously gave heartfelt accounts of some of the darkest hours of their lives.”

A minute's silence will be held in Liverpool later to mark the anniversary.