‘Hillsborough cop’s failure killed fans’
THE failings of Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield led to 96 deaths at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final, a court has heard.
The ex-policeman denies the manslaughter by gross negligence of 95 Liverpool fans fatally crushed at Sheffield Wednesday’s ground.
Opening the prosecution case yesterday, Richard Matthews QC said Duckenfield, 75, had “ultimate responsibility” for the operation to secure the safety of 50,000 fans at the match with Nottingham Forest.
He said: “It is our case that David Duckenfield’s failures to discharge this personal responsibility were extraordinarily bad and contributed substantially to the deaths of the 96 people who lost their lives.”
Preston crown court was told a previous trial took place in January but the jury was unable to return a verdict and was discharged.
Matthews said Duckenfield’s failure was “so bad, so reprehensible, that it amounts to a gross failure”.
He told the court all the 24,000 Liverpool fans were sent to the Leppings Lane end of the ground, where limited turnstiles created a bottleneck ahead of the kick-off.
The court heard Duckenfield agreed to requests to open an exit gate after crushing built up outside the turnstiles before the match.
Once through the gate, fans saw a tunnel which led to pens on the terrace where the crush happened.
Matthews said: “David Duckenfield gave no thought to the consequence of the flood of people, nor did he make any attempt to monitor what was occurring.”