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      Hillsborough files to be reopened?

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      Gow
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      Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Apr 19, 2009 11:55:22 am
      Just saw this on BBC News website:

      http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/8006744.stm#


      Hillsborough files may be opened

      Secret files on the Hillsborough disaster could be made public 10 years early after a request from the home secretary.

      Jacqui Smith has asked South Yorkshire Police to release the documents, which contain detailed evidence of what happened during the tragedy in 1989.

      It could help families of the 96 victims who want a new inquiry.

      Ms Smith has met South Yorkshire Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes to discuss the records.

      Inquest ruling

      The files contain evidence from the police, local council and the ambulance service. Documents like this are usually not made public for 30 years, but the home secretary has intervened two decades after the disaster.

      Evidence was examined during the original inquest, in which the coroner ruled all victims had sustained their fatal injuries by 1515 BST, based on advice from pathologists.

      As a result, he did not hear any evidence of what happened after that point - but many bereaved families believe their loved ones could have still been alive and they want a fresh inquiry.

      Culture secretary Andy Burnham was heckled as campaigners shouted "Justice for the 96" at the Hillsborough memorial service on Wednesday.

      Following the service, he called for "full disclosure" of all evidence on the Hillsborough disaster.
      Barolo
      • Forum Gary McAllister
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      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #1: Apr 19, 2009 01:55:37 pm
      This is a welcome piece of news. 150 MP's have joined the Mirror Campaign. Shay posted this link elsewhere (on the Sticky: Petition Thread) but here it is again:

      http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/04/18/150-mps-join-the-daily-mirror-s-justice-for-the-96-campaign-115875-21286338/


      Every member of this site should sign the petition  http://www.lfcreds.com/reds/index.php?topic=16456.0  and send it to as many people as possible; in our own small way, we can help in the fight for Justice for the 96 who lost their lives and for those who mourn them, family, friends and fellow fans.

      YNWA
      redkenny
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      • 97 - Always Remembered
      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #2: Apr 19, 2009 03:29:48 pm
      Yeah, seen this on the news earlier. The talk of it has been gathering momentum since last week and it's good to hear Jacqui Smith has asked for the documents to be released now.

      As for the part where it says she has met the chief constable to 'discuss' the records though, there should be little or no discussion about it.

      Release the documents and let's see a fresh, fair inquiry.
      Gow
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      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #3: Apr 19, 2009 03:38:38 pm
      Just seen this on Sky News, saying the files WILL be released...

      Hillsborough 'Secret Files' To Be Revealed
      Hundreds of previously unseen files about Britain's deadliest sporting tragedy - Hillsborough - are to be released by police.

      Ninety-six Liverpool fans died in a crush at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium on 15 April, 1989 in an FA Cup semi final.

      After the 20th anniversary of the tragedy last week, Culture Secretary Andy Burnham promised to look at suspending 30-year secrecy rules into official documents.

      Home Secretary Jacqui Smith met South Yorkshire's chief constable Meredydd Hughes to discuss the matter and her request has been accepted.

      Families of the victims, who have repeatedly asked for the documents to be made public and long campaigned for a fresh inquiry, welcomed the news.

      Survivor Andy McGrath told Sky News: "I'm cautious about it because we have seen these chinks of light before but this time there does seem to be a different attitude among many people."

      "I was in the crowd when Andy Burnham was heckled on Wednesday, that was just because people are so passionate about it, if something comes from what he has done then he should get full credit."

      The files the families are desperate to see include statements taken from ambulance drivers on the day.

      Only one ambulance made it onto the pitch while others were lined up outside the ground after police told them they could not go in because the fans were fighting.

      In fact almost 100 fans were being crushed to death, many more were injured. The one ambulance was unable to cope with so many requests for help.

      Other documents still not seen include original police statements and accounts from staff at Sheffield Wednesday, the club hosting the match that day between Liverpool and Nottigham Forest.

      The families are also keen to see the minutes of a meeting between then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and senior police officers which they say took place on the morning after the disaster.

      If the documents are released it is likely to intensify calls in Liverpool for a fresh inquiry, for the families it would be a big step towards closure after two decades of hurt.

      Sky News link

      Let's hope a new, fair, unbiased inquiry comes as a result. It's taken 20 years, but the fight goes on.
      « Last Edit: Apr 19, 2009 03:47:46 pm by redkenny »
      redkenny
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      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #4: Apr 19, 2009 03:53:49 pm
      Nice one Gow - I've stuck the article in for you mate.

      Small step, but as Andy McGrath says in that article, hopefully the attitude is different among certain people. And that this can lead to something positive for the families and survivors.
      catflap13
      • Forum Alf Arrowsmith
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      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #5: Apr 19, 2009 07:09:25 pm
      Just seen the news, wonder if files will be sanitised tho
      HUYTON RED
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      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #6: Apr 19, 2009 07:25:05 pm
      I wonder if all the files are still there!
      Barolo
      • Forum Gary McAllister
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      • 91 posts |
      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #7: Apr 19, 2009 07:36:32 pm
      Just seen the news, wonder if files will be sanitised tho

      That's what worries me.

      Just been reading the report on the Virgin Media site; I can't believe the some of the sick comments I've read there - some people have no idea what they're talking about.    http://latestnews.virginmedia.com/news/uk/2009/04/19/hillsborough_dossier_to_be_released
      MsGerrard
      • Guest
      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #8: Apr 19, 2009 08:32:11 pm
      I wonder if all the files are still there!


      If they are, you can bet some of them will have been 'tampered' with  >:(
      HUYTON RED
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      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #9: Apr 19, 2009 08:40:10 pm

      If they are, you can bet some of them will have been 'tampered' with  >:(

      Going on their previous history, I'd say shredded or torched.
      MsGerrard
      • Guest
      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #10: Apr 19, 2009 09:03:37 pm
      Going on their previous history, I'd say shredded or torched.

      Most probably........some will definitely have gone walkabouts.....they'll find a way to cover it up  :(
      phillio67
      • Justice For The 96
      • Forum Neil Ruddock
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      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #11: Apr 19, 2009 09:07:00 pm
      Well it's up to us to keep the pressure on

      sign it but don't forget the activation email, tell all your friends....

      http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/lfcdisaster/
      StevieGfan
      • Forum Billy Liddell
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      • LFC - YNWA
      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #12: Apr 19, 2009 09:38:51 pm
      Signed it, mum and sister signed it too, lets hope justice comes out of this
      phillio67
      • Justice For The 96
      • Forum Neil Ruddock
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      • 157 posts |
      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #13: Apr 19, 2009 09:40:30 pm
      Thanks, tell all your friends...now is the time for the truth to be told !!!!!!!
      MsGerrard
      • Guest
      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #14: Apr 22, 2009 08:13:34 pm
      PM PROMISES HILLSBOROUGH HELP

      James Carroll 22 April 2009

         Prime Minister Gordon Brown today confirmed the government are ready to explore means of disclosing official documents relating to the Hillsborough disaster.
      South Yorkshire Police said earlier this week they would be prepared to release around 300 boxes of material regarding the tragedy if able to do so.
       
      Now the Prime Minister has pledged to do his best to help the families affected by the disaster.
       
      Asked during Prime Minister's Question Time whether official documents - not just police files, but also health and government records - would be released, Mr Brown replied: "96 people lost their lives on that day and the inquiry found that action had to be taken so that something like this would never happen again.
       
      "I can well understand that, even after all these years, the feelings of the families are such that they want to be sure that everything possible was done, and so yes, we will look at how we can release whatever information is available to the families.
       
      "I have to say that the Taylor Report was a very full inquiry, and there was then a further report after 1997 to at what may be necessary to do in addition.
       
      "But if this is a means by which we can help the families in difficult times, even after these years, we will look very carefully at what we can do."


      Let's just hope all these promises of re-opening files etc finally comes to fruition.
      phillio67
      • Justice For The 96
      • Forum Neil Ruddock
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      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #15: Apr 22, 2009 09:22:38 pm
      Well like i said , they covered it up for 20 years and i just don't trust them at all, so still keep getting signatures please people....

      please sign this petition but don't for get you activation email too....

      http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/lfcdisaster/
      phillio67
      • Justice For The 96
      • Forum Neil Ruddock
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      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #16: Apr 22, 2009 09:23:16 pm
      Signatures: 8,016
      HUYTON RED
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      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #17: Jul 23, 2009 08:26:33 pm
      Access to Hillsborough secret papers getting closer
      Exclusive By Brian Reade 23/07/2009



      The Hillsborough Families could finally get access to 2,000 secret papers in their fight for justice.

      They are to meet Home Secretary Alan Johnson on Tuesday to discuss the release of documents relating to how 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death in the 1989 stadium disaster.

      It is the families’ first major meeting with Cabinet ministers since being refused a fresh inquiry 11 years ago.

      A team including Mr Johnson and  Justice Minister Jack Straw have been discussing how to release the files. It is believed the documents – disclosed 10 years early after the Government relaxed its 30-year secrecy rule – will be given to a panel of experts within two months.

      Trevor Hicks, from the Hillsborough Family Support Group, said: “There seems a genuine will to move the matter forward.” Margaret Aspinall, Jenni Hicks and Pat Joynes – who lost children in British sport’s worst disaster – will join the meeting. It could take up to two years to study the files and produce a report.

      Andy Burnham, who in his former role as Culture Minister was heckled by the Anfield Kop during the 20th anniversary service in April, said: “We cannot guarantee justice but we may be able to deliver the truth.”


      http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/07/23/access-to-hillsborough-secret-papers-getting-closer-115875-21540708/
      MIRO
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      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #18: Jul 29, 2009 03:08:42 pm
      Sporting Life:  Wednesday July 29th 2009....



      Home Secretary Alan Johnson has agreed to release previously unseen documents relating to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, his office confirmed on Wednesday.

      Mr Johnson told the mothers of three of the 96 victims of his decision at a face-to-face meeting in London on Tuesday.

      The release of the documents, in cooperation with South Yorkshire Police, will be co-ordinated by The Hillsborough Independent Panel, which is to be set up in the coming weeks.

      The panel could start sifting through the paperwork as early as September.

      The Home Office said the documents would be made available to the families before they are made public because they many contain sensitive and personal information about the last minutes of the victims' lives.

      A Home Office spokesman said: "Hillsborough was a terrible tragedy and the Government is committed to full disclosure of information held centrally and by local agencies in order to help provide a permanent record of documentation relating to the tragedy.

      "This will be done in close co-operation with South Yorkshire Police.

      "The Home Secretary, together with Health Secretary Andy Burnham and justice minister Michael Wills, have had a useful and productive meeting with the Hillsborough Family Support Group to explore options that will enable them to have access to all relevant papers.

      "The Government's intention is to appoint an independent panel, 'The Hillsborough Independent Panel', to oversee release of this information.

      "Disclosure will take into account the wishes of the families to protect sensitive and personal information about the victims.

      "With this in mind, the Government will seek to ensure that representatives of the Hillsborough families will have prior disclosure of documents on an agreed timescale before they are made more widely available.

      "The Government will continue to work with the families to complete this work."
      MIRO
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      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #19: Jul 29, 2009 04:00:15 pm
      and          the BBC.CO.UK.    29/7/2009.




      Families who lost their loved ones in the Hillsborough disaster have renewed hope of a full disclosure after a meeting with the Home Secretary.

      Alan Johnson promised the Hillsborough Support Group that documents relating to the 1989 tragedy would be released in the next three months.

      The papers, containing evidence from all authorities involved in the 1989 tragedy, will not have any redactions.

      A spokesman said the Home Office was committed to "a full disclosure".

      Margaret Aspinall, whose son was among the 96 who died in the disaster, said: "We are all so tired, we have waited 20 years for this.

      "The meeting did go well and we felt like we were getting somewhere, we feel like we do have the support of both the home secretary and Andy Burnham, the health secretary.



      "We would not have achieved so much if it had not been for the support of the people of Merseyside and the country shouting for justice for the 96."

      Professor Phil Scraton, author of Hillsborough: The Truth, has been chosen by the families to represent them on a five-person panel which will review the documents when they are released.

      Mrs Aspinall said the families had chosen the professor because he "was the only one we trust".



      They want a new investigation to recognise that not all the victims had died by 1515 BST on the day of the disaster and to re-examine the actions of the police and the emergency services.

      After the panel has seen the documents, the files will be sent to the families before being put in the public domain.

      "We just want the truth so we can stop fighting, for all the people who have supported us, and so our sons, daughters, loved ones can finally rest in peace," Mrs Aspinall added.

      A Home Office spokesman said: "We are committed to a full disclosure of the documents held both centrally and locally.

      "This will be done in close co-operation with South Yorkshire Police.

      "Our intention is to appoint an independent panel, 'the Hillsborough Independent Panel', to oversee release of this information."
      Shay
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      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #20: Jul 29, 2009 07:48:10 pm
      About f*cking time!

      Hopefully some of the families can get some closure and more of the truth can come out.
      frizzby5
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      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #21: Jul 30, 2009 11:51:01 am
      Fingers crossed ! but somehow I think there will still be unanswered questions to the most sensitive issues, it will just be another cover up ! :f_steam:
      scottish lfc fan
      • Forum John Toshack
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      Re: Hillsborough files to be reopened?
      Reply #22: Jul 30, 2009 07:00:16 pm
      About Time  96

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