Govt ordered to release Hillsborough files

'The government is ordered to make public confidential files about the Hillsborough stadium disaster' latest from BBC news site.

About time.

Justice for the 96

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14296590

The government has been ordered to make public documents revealing discussions which the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher held about the 1989 Hillsborough stadium disaster, where 96 Liverpool fans were killed and for which the police were later blamed.

The Information Commissioner has now ruled that releasing the files would be in the public interest.

His judgment states that the "specific content of the information in question would add to public knowledge and understanding about the reaction of various parties to that event, including the Government of the day, in the early aftermath".
'Unjustified and excessive'

This is in response to a freedom of information application made by the BBC over two years ago. The Commissioner also strongly criticised the Cabinet Office for its "unjustified and excessive" delays in handling the BBC's request.

The Liverpool supporters were killed in an appalling crush of fans within the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield, where the club was playing an FA Cup semi final. A subsequent inquiry held that the main reason for the overcrowding was the failure of police control.

Mrs Thatcher was briefed about the disaster in the days that followed it, and it was discussed at a number of meetings. The records to be disclosed include reports presented to her, correspondence between her office and that of the Home Secretary Douglas Hurd, and minutes of meetings she attended.

Some campaigners for the families of the victims have suggested that Mrs Thatcher sought to avoid the police being criticised.
'Diminishing case'

The meetings involved include a cabinet meeting. It is unusual for the Commissioner to order the disclosure of cabinet minutes, due to the need to protect the convention of collective responsibility.

The Commissioner argued that due to the reduction of the 30 year rule "there is a diminishing case for withholding information over 20 years old". Gordon Brown as prime minister pledged to reduce the existing 30 year period for making many state documents public, and the coalition government is starting to implement this plan.

In December 2009 the Labour government also set up an independent panel to review the documentation about the Hillsborough tragedy to assess what should now be made public. The Cabinet Office maintained that no material should be disclosed before the panel finishes its work, planned for next year. But the Commissioner discarded this as an irrelevant argument, since the panel had not existed at the time in April 2009 when the BBC's request was made.

The government now has to release the documents or appeal to a tribunal.

The Cabinet Office was recently compelled by the Information Commissioner, Chris Graham, to sign an undertaking to improve the way it handles FOI requests. Mr Graham took action against it because of the frequent severe delays in the Cabinet Office's handling of FOI applications.

Movement at last!

About time too. Justice always prevails. Great news.

One step closer to justice.

Amongst other things the release of the files will hopefully shed more light on Thatchers attempt to keep the police out of the sh*t, accordingly her right wing allies at the time in the form of the media printed and broadcast the lies we are only too familiar with.
You never know the nature of these liberated files until they are disclosed but we all hope that the F***ing witch will be exposed to the world.

35 days until access can be gained, this will be the start of the end. The bas**rds better not have changed anything or 'lost' anything.

Saw this mentioned on the BBC this evening. Just hope they don't appeal against this and delay it any further.

Will these files be redacted or released in all their glory?

Saw this mentioned on the BBC this evening. Just hope they don't appeal against this and delay it any further.

They've already been berated for delaying the issue so I think we're past that stage now, the usual lines of red tape are being followed.

Same news but with a bit more info from Sky News..

Hillsborough papers to be published

Thatcher discussions will be made public

Last Updated: July 26, 2011 9:08pm

The Government has been ordered to publish documents revealing the discussions held by Margaret Thatcher about the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

Information Commissioner Christopher Graham ruled that the information was in the public interest.

In a decision notice, he said: "Support for disclosure of information relating to the Hillsborough disaster was expressed by the previous government and has been reconfirmed by the current Government, and the commissioner also believes that the specific content of the information in question would add to public knowledge and understanding about the reaction of various parties to that event, including the government of the day, in the early aftermath."

Ninety-six Liverpool fans died in the crush at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield on April 15, 1989, where the club was playing an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

An inquiry found that the main reason for overcrowding was the failure of police control.

The commissioner's judgment may still be subject to an appeal, which would need to be lodged with the First-tier Tribunal (Information Rights) within 28 days. If there is no appeal, the Cabinet Office has 35 days to comply with the order.

Request

Graham's judgment relates to a Freedom of Information request from the BBC more than two years ago, which was refused by the Cabinet Office.

This was followed by an internal review which upheld the refusal, prompting the complainant to ask the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to review the request in September last year.

In his judgment, the commissioner hit out at the Cabinet Office for "unjustified and excessive" delays.

He ordered the Government to publish information relating to the Hillsborough disaster provided to Mrs Thatcher, then prime minister, and the minutes of meetings she attended on the matter.

The Commissioner said it was right to publish the record of a Cabinet meeting on April 20 1989 in which Mrs Thatcher and her ministers spoke of the disaster.

The Cabinet Office had argued that disclosure would impact negatively on the freedom with which ministers can engage in "free and frank discussions", and on the convention of collective responsibility.

Circumstances

But Mr Graham said: "In this case there had been multiple changes in government between the time that the information was recorded and the date of the request.

"Also, the subject matter of the discussions recorded within the information in question centred on a very particular set of circumstances that were no longer current at the time of the request.

"As a result the view of the Commissioner is that the argument in favour of maintenance of the exemption relating to convention of collective Cabinet responsibility is not a factor of significant weight in favour of maintenance of the exemption."

He also said the passage of time since the information was recorded was a key factor.

"This information was 20 years old at the time of the request and, as the complainant has noted, the current Government is implementing a reduction of the current 30-year period before Government papers are released to 20 years," he said.

He therefore recognised "that there is a diminishing case for withholding information over 20 years old".

In December 2009, the Labour government set up an independent panel to review the documents surrounding the tragedy to assess what should be made public. The Cabinet Office said no material should be disclosed before the panel finishes its work, planned for the end of this year.

But the Commissioner said he did "not agree that the existence of this panel is a relevant factor here, as it did not exist at the time of the request".

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11669_7063199,00.html

So glad to see this today. They should accept their wrongdoing for what we're unfairly blamed. Stand by the HSG.

Justice for The 96

The article states the Tories have shortened the 30 year freedom of information limitation period to 20 years which could hopefully go some way to giving those affected some closure on the horror, for that reason if nothing else it is very welcome indeed.

Let us not forget though that the Tory witch Thatcher wiped the slate clean for the establishment and secreted the evidence for as long as it would take for time to dim the memory - or so they thought.

Cameron et al know that time now is their enemy and Hillsborough has come back to haunt them with recent events a re-enactment of the cover up in 1989 instigated by the same party with the same accomplices.

This ultimate cynical ploy of shifting the blame onto a former incumbant is par for the course with these bas**rds, even a former colleague in the shape of the witch Thatcher who is still admired and extolled by the dyed in the blue wool conservatives, is worth sacrificing - if it gets the current parasites out of the brown stuff.

35 days until access can be gained, this will be the start of the end. The bas**rds better not have changed anything or 'lost' anything.

Not to be a doomsayer, but I think It's probably a certainty that some items will have been "lost" or at least altered with a big black marker!!!

Not to be a doomsayer, but I think It's probably a certainty that some items will have been "lost" or at least altered with a big black marker!!!

Indeed. Remember the expenses farce when the government released documents only to see everything pretty much marked out with black marker. Why they are releasing this over 20 years after the event is a disgrace and an immense failure of governments past and present.

And about bloody time to. Time to sort out those F***ing lies and get justice for the 96 and their families.

I have a feeling there is something really condemning in these reports.

If not why have the suits not released them by now. You can bet your arse if the reports blamed the fans they'd have been published and be on DVD by now.

Feel the government are craping themselves as are the bizzies.

Justice For The 96, AT LAST !!

Looking forward to seeing the results of this.

Hopefully positive...

I have a feeling there is something really condemning in these reports.

If not why have the suits not released them by now. You can bet your arse if the reports blamed the fans they'd have been published and be on DVD by now.

Feel the government are craping themselves as are the bizzies.

There were certain parts of the report that the government tried to withhold without success fortunately, so the sh*t could indeed hit the fan.

Government to appeal Information Commissioner order to release hidden 'Hillsborough Thatcher' files to the public

Ben Rossington
Aug 17 2011

THE Government today announced it would appeal against an order to release the hidden ‘Hillsborough Thatcher’ files to the public.

Earlier this month, the Information Commissioner said confidential reports detailing the discussions then-PM Margaret Thatcher had in the aftermath of the 1989 stadium disaster should be made public.

The publication of the papers, said to include reports presented to the prime minister and correspondence with Home Secretary Douglas Hurd, would have come before the findings of the Hillsborough Independent Panel, which is currently deciding what information should be released to the public.

At the time of the Information Commissioner’s decision, the Cabinet Office said it would be wrong to put anything out before the panel had given it the green light and the families of those who lost their lives had seen it.

And today, it announced it will appeal the decision.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “We are appealing the Information Commissioner Office’s decision.

“The Government’s view is that it is in the public interest for the process that is underway through the Hillsborough Independent Panel be allowed to take its course.

“The terms of reference for that process includes the intention to disclose information to the Hillsborough families first.

“The Cabinet Office absolutely agrees with the principle of providing information to families about the Hillsborough stadium disaster, but we believe it is important that any release of information should be managed through the Panel’s processes and in line with their terms of reference.

“The Cabinet Office is fully committed to the disclosure process in line with the Terms of Reference and is working with the Panel to achieve that.

“The Panel have had access to all the information covered by this decision notice.”

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/08/17/government-to-appeal-information-commissioner-order-to-release-hidden-hillsborough-thatcher-files-to-the-public-100252-29253547/#ixzz1VIjqgblr

These are from the Official Hillsborough Justice Campaign on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/HJCOfficial

Official Hillsborough Justice Campaign
The Hillsborough Justice Campaign will now have to seriously reconsider the relationship it has with the panel. Of paramount concern to the campaign is that the panel, via the government, should seek to police that truth in this way.
Sheila Coleman (on behalf of the HJC)

Official Hillsborough Justice Campaign
The issue seems to be that the BBC would make public the contents of the cabinet meeting minutes immediately, whereas the panel will not release any information before 2012. The government’s action in appealing the decision indicates the close working relationship between itself and the ‘independent’ panel. The decision appears to us as a policing exercise that is not in the best interests of those most affected by the Disaster.

Official Hillsborough Justice Campaign
It states that information should be “managed through the panel’s processes”; in what way will the information be ‘managed’? Why is there a need to ‘manage‘ the truth? If the panel is committed to the true facts being revealed then why is there such concern regarding the BBC revealing those facts? The panel does not have a moral right to ownership of the facts.

Official Hillsborough Justice Campaign
HJC STATEMENT RE: GOVERNMENT APPEAL:
The Hillsborough Justice Campaign is disgusted but not surprised by the government’s decision to appeal the release of information to the BBC. The fact that it quotes the Hillsborough Independent panel’s work and ‘public interest’ as the reasons to appeal is both illogical and disingenuous. (cont...)

Hillsborough files: Cabinet office appeals against disclosure

The government is appealing against an order to release cabinet discussions from the aftermath of the 1989 Hillsborough stadium disaster.

Then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher held meetings about the disaster, in which 96 Liverpool fans died.

Information Commissioner Christopher Graham has ruled that the information is in the public interest.

The Cabinet Office said any information must be released in line with the Hillsborough independent inquiry.
'Families first'

Mr Graham's judgement related to a Freedom Of Information (FoI) request from the BBC which was refused by the Cabinet Office in 2009.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: "The government's view is that it is in the public interest for the process that is under way through the Hillsborough Independent Panel be allowed to take its course.

"The terms of reference for that process includes the intention to disclose information to the Hillsborough families first."

It added: "The Cabinet Office absolutely agrees with the principle of providing information to families about the Hillsborough stadium disaster, but we believe it is important that any release of information should be managed through the panel's processes and in line with their terms of reference.

"The Cabinet Office is fully committed to the disclosure process in line with the terms of reference and is working with the panel to achieve that.

"The panel have had access to all the information covered by this decision notice."
'Excessive delays'

The withheld files include reports presented to Mrs Thatcher and correspondence between her office and the then Home Secretary Douglas Hurd and minutes of meetings she attended.

Mr Graham also criticised the Cabinet Office for "unjustified and excessive delays" in handling the BBC request.

The request had been followed by an internal review which upheld the refusal.

Ninety-five Liverpool supporters were killed in a crush of fans at the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield, where the club was playing an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

The 96th victim was left in a coma for three years and died in 1992.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-14562573

I have a feeling there is something really condemning in these reports.

If not why have the suits not released them by now. You can bet your arse if the reports blamed the fans they'd have been published and be on DVD by now.

Feel the government are craping themselves as are the bizzies.

And again. ^^^

Looking forward to seeing the results of this.

Hopefully positive...

I'm not, going to piss me off if they failed in their duty of care, and the follow up of not providing justice for those involved in this disaster, and by that, I mean they knew they fu**ed up, but just brushed it under the carpet, because it's only those scousers.

Just saw that on Facebook, Kate. Absolute disgrace but no surprise either.

It would appear that certain parties are ill at ease with said sh*t colliding with anything be it a fan, terms of reference or a certain witch called Thatcher.