I never thought to say ‘I’m not up to job’
Match commander tells inquests he had no recent experience of policing at Hillsborough
THE match commander on the day of the Hillsborough disaster has admitted he was “probably not the best man for the job”.
Former chief superintendent David Duckenfield told inquests into the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans that in the days leading up to the 1989 tragedy he had no concerns about his lack of experience.
But he conceded yesterday that his hands-on experience of the planning and policing of football matches was limited.
He was promoted to match commander by South Yorkshire Police only a few days before the match and was also involved in moving to a new divisional headquarters.
And Mr Duckenfield agreed that it was a “serious mistake” not to seek the assistance of his predecessor after being appointed to the job with just 15 days to familiarise himself with the role before the match.
He said: “In hindsight, I should have thought about my limited knowledge of a role of commander in a major event that was an all-ticket sell-out, when I had not been in that responsible position before.”
Mr Duckenfield was asked whether this realisation came immediately after the tragedy or with the benefit of hindsight.
He said: “After 25, 26 years, and knowing what had happened, I cannot differentiate between the two. After a period of ‘I am older, I am hopefully wiser’, probably I was not the best man for the job on the day.”
Mr Duckenfield, 70, gave evidence from the witness box with around 200 relatives of those who died at the match listening in silence in rows of seats behind him in the courtroom in Warrington.
Ninety-six Liverpool fans died following a crush on the Leppings Lane terrace of Sheffield Wednesday’s ground as the FA Cup semifinal against Nottingham Forest kicked off on April 15, 1989.
He gave the order to open gates, allowing 2,000 fans massing outside the turnstiles into the ground in the minutes before the fatal crush.
Mr Duckenfield said he had no recent previous experience of po- licing at Hillsborough before the match and his knowledge of the stadium was “very general”.
He said that while he had experience of public order policing, this was “totally different” to policing football matches.
He said: “There was a culture in the police service at that time that you would be moved without an overlap and would learn on the job.
“When we moved to whatever role, I am not talking about this particular one, there was a culture of moving people around.
“I didn’t cross my mind to say ‘I am not up to the job’, I just got on with it.
“It was a serious mistake with hindsight, knowing the events on the day, that I continue in the role.”
Mr Duckenfield said he was not aware of crushing among fans at Hillsborough during a 1981 semi-final at the time of the tragedy and had learned about this only in the last two years.
He was asked about concerns expressed by police at the time that the capacity for the Leppings Lane terrace was not sufficient.
He replied: “This is an area where I am confused in that I have heard [Superintendent Roger] Greenwood since this unfortunate incident make mention of that. But I have no specific recollection of him saying to me ‘you must bear in mind this, this and this’.”
Mr Duckenfield said that, after first joining South Yorkshire Police as a cadet in 1960, he had been “delighted” to be promoted to the post of chief superintendent in 1989. As Hillsborough was in his division, it became his responsibility.
Mr Duckenfield is due to give evidence for the next three days.
Probably I was not the best man for the job on the day. Former South Yorkshire Police chief superintendent David Duckenfield.
IT WAS the day the families of the 96 Liverpool football fans who died at Hillsborough came face to face with the senior police officer at the centre of the 1989 tragedy.
David Duckenfield was an inexperienced match commander with South Yorkshire Police on the day Britain’s worst ever sporting disaster unfolded at Sheffield Wednesday’s home ground.
Promoted to to the position as chief superintendent only days before the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on April 15, he had no recent policing experience at the ground.
And it was his order to open gates onto the Leppings Lane terrace that allowed 2,000 fans massing outside the turnstiles into the ground in the minutes before the fatal crush.
On his first day of questioning at new inquests into the deaths, more than a quarter of a century later, Mr Duckenfield’s suitability for the job and preparations made before the match came under scrutiny. He is due to give evidence for the rest of the week.
Arriving before 8am at the coroner’s court, based at a business park near Warrington, Cheshire, Mr Duckenfield was inside the building two hours before proceedings began.
Wearing a grey suit and purple tie, the 70-year-old addressed Christina Lambert QC, counsel to the inquests, as “ma’am” while being questioned over the course of five hours.
His appearance at the inquest had been long-awaited by families of the Hillsborough victims, with some describing their feelings of nervousness as they queued in large numbers to get into the building. Journalists covering the event nearly filled a separate annex.
Mr Duckenfield, who was promoted to chief superintendent and match commander on March 27, 1989, told the inquest jury he had no concerns about his lack of experience at the time but admitted in hindsight that it was a “serious mistake” allowing him to continue.
When asked by Christina Lambert QC, counsel to the inquests, if he had spent enough time getting to know Hillsborough stadium before the match, he replied: “Knowing the events of the day, I should have spent the majority of my time as new commander down there.
“But I did, in the light of the information available, what I considered necessary and if there was a failing then I apologise.”
As part of his preparations for the game, Mr Duckenfield carried out a walk-about at Hillsborough on April 1. But he told the jury he had not recognised the risk of over-crowding created by the existence of pens on the Leppings Lane terracing.
After answering several questions about Sheffield Wednesday’s system for counting fans into Hillsborough, Mr Duckenfield said he had not recognised before the disaster that the layout of the Leppings Lane end “formed something of a bottleneck”.
Asked if the bottle-neck had been a feature of the ground he noticed during a pre-match “walk-around” of the ground, Mr Duckenfield told Ms Lambert: “No, ma’am. I think when I was assessing the ground I was walking around the ground on the inside. I don’t recollect going outside and standing on the opposite side of Leppings Lane to the turnstiles and looking across and surveying the situation. I didn’t appreciate the difficulties that could ensue.”
During the afternoon session, Mr Duckenfield admitted there were “deficiencies” in the way the match order was drafted for police officers on the day because no mention had been made of monitoring the filling of the pens or filtering fans on their way to the stadium.
Asked by Ms Lambert if he accepted any role in these deficiencies, he replied: “I was chief superintendent in charge on the day. I signed the order, so I must accept responsibility.”
Ms Lambert said to him: “Before the match you were not concerned about monitoring the filling of the pens in the Leppings Lane terrace, it was not something you focused upon.”
He said: “I focused on many things but nothing drew my attention to particularly focus on that.”
The inquest was adjourned and will resume today.
I didn’t appreciate the difficulties that could ensue. David Duckenfield, match commander on the day of the Hillsborough disaster