Hillsborough - the Truth is finally out there

A personal reflection by Rose Green

12 September 2012 will go down in Liverpool history as the day that all the pain and the struggle and the tears were justified.   The dignity and determination of the families to seek justice for their loved ones should be an inspiration to everyone. The Hillsborough Disaster, which resulted in the deaths of 96 men, women and children, happened on a beautiful sunny day - 15 April 1989.   They had gone to a football match, hopes high, scarves and banners flying, held in a ground without a safety certificate, with huge fences designed to prevent hooliganism.   They never came home.

There are heroes and villains in this tale, just as in any other.   Apart from the families themselves, the people of Liverpool can count themselves amongst the former.   Their solidarity with the bereaved was praised over and over again yesterday, and stands as testament to the spirit of a city that has often seen itself as being at odds with the powers that be. On 15 April 2009, Andy Burnham, MP - the then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport - attended the 20th Anniversary Hillsborough Memorial Service on behalf of the Prime Minister.   As he began to speak, he was greeted by a round of booing and jeers, which clearly took him aback.   He made his speech in spite of the difficulties - but he also took note of the reaction he had received.   Rather than dismissing the incident as evidence of ignorance and rudeness in Liverpool, he saw the frustration and the misery, and he did something about it. The Hillsborough Independent Panel (HIP) that he set up, Chaired by the Bishop of Liverpool, gave its report, yesterday.   It confirms everything the families have always believed, yet throws up even more horrors.   There was surprise at the strength of the wording but after everything that has gone before - the inquests and inquiries that have led nowhere - it was more than time for a report with bite.   The HIP members can also count themselves heroes. Some of the villains are well known.   Senior officers from South Yorkshire Police began to distort the facts even as the disaster was unfolding in front of them.   The FA allowed the match to go ahead, even though Sheffield City Council had refused to grant the ground a safety certificate.    Dozens of ambulance crews were kept outside the ground, whilst people died inside.   Blood samples were taken from all the victims - including a 10-year-old - to test blood alcohol levels.   If there was no alcohol, the police then searched for criminal records.  The Sun newspaper printed an infamous headline above a story that was only lies. Police officers and the local MP were the source of a story that accused Liverpool fans of the worst kinds of behaviour.   They had robbed the dead and urinated on police officers trying to help the injured, said the report.   Who would ever behave like that in that situation?   And who could possibly make such a thing up?   Several papers ran the story that was circulated by the local news agency. But only The Sun ran it under the headline - 'The Truth'. Yesterday, the then editor of the paper, Kelvin McKenzie issued a statement apologising for running the story, saying that he had acted in good faith.   The timing - in the middle of a press conference given by the families after being briefed on the report - seemed more than convenient.   The apology was rightly dismissed as too little, too late.   Perhaps the most shocking thing in the report for me, though, was the news that perhaps as many as 41 of the victims could have been saved if they had received the appropriate medical care at the scene.   Now, their families must decide how they want to move forward.   But amidst  the trauma of reviewing the death toll, it is easy for forget the survivors, the people who did make it home but were forever changed.   Some found it impossible to live with their perceived guilt at being alive and took the ultimate step.   Their names are not included in the list of the dead but surely they died as a result of the events at Hillsborough, too?   Yesterday, I was prouder than ever to be a Liverpool Lass.   The Scouser in me likes to think that only in Liverpool would the fight have gone on for so long but the human in me believes that any family would fight for the vindication of their innocent loved ones.   Perhaps what I can claim is that only here would a whole city stand behind the families so long and so faithfully - they haven't fought their fight alone.   The story of Hillsborough is one of needless loss of life, setbacks and wounds that were never able to heal.   It is also one of courage, determination and faith that the Truth could be found and set free.  

You'll Never Walk Alone