Families awaiting stadium disaster charges
THE FAMILIES of the 96 victims of the Hillsborough disaster will learn today whether anyone will face charges as a result.
Representatives of the families say they are preparing for a day of “mixed emotions” ahead of the announcement, which will be made in Warrington this morning.
It was there that an inquest jury ruled last year that the 96 men, women and children were unlawfully killed at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final, in which Liverpool were to play Nottingham Forest in Sheffield.
Earlier this year, Operation Resolve, which investigated the causes of the disaster, and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) passed files of evidence relating to 23 suspects, including individuals and organisations, to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Margaret Aspinall, chairwoman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, said: “It’s been a long, long struggle for everybody, and hopefully this is the journey to the end, completely, of Hillsborough.
“We’ve got to wait with anticipation to see what happens.”
Mrs Aspinall, whose son James was aged 18 when he died in the tragedy at the Sheffield Wednesday ground, said families would have a “sleepless night” ahead of the decisions.
She said her thoughts on Wednesday would be with family members who had died in the 28 years since the disaster.
She said: “It is going to be a day of mixed emotions for the families and we have had so many of them.
“Whatever happens, I still think it will be a long road, but the families are determined to never give up.
“All we want is accountability, nothing more and nothing less.”
Steve Kelly, whose brother Michael, 38, was killed in the disaster, said: “This is just the start of another battle really, no matter what the outcome is.
“There will be very, very mixed feelings. This is just another step along the way.
“I feel sometimes like I’m walking with my ankles in shackles because I know I can’t walk freely. The actual vindication of the 96 and the survivors of Hillsborough hasn’t been fully achieved yet.”
Barry Devonside, whose son Christopher, 18, died in the disaster, said: “I just want this finished and to come to a conclusion.
“The last 28 years has been very upsetting, traumatic and very, very painful.
“This needs to be done properly and it needs to make people accountable for their actions on that particular day.”
Operation Resolve and the IPCC’s investigation have so far cost more than £70m. Some 7,000 exhibits have been seized as part of the IPCC’s probe, which is by far the biggest in the police watchdog’s history. It centres around whether, as suggested by a damning report in 2012, accounts by officers were amended and misleading information given out as part of a cover-up to blame Liverpool fans for the tragedy. A handwriting expert was brought in to go through some of the 5,200 police notebooks.