The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Trial told of fatal ‘failures’
● Match commander accused over deaths of 96 Liverpool fans ‘Officer gave no thought to effect of opening gate’
The “extraordinarily bad” failings of Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield caused the deaths of 96 “wholly innocent” Liverpool, his trial has heard.
Former South Yorkshire Police chief superintendent Duckenfield did not quickly declare a major incident or enact emergency measures to free trapped supporters as the disaster unfolded, Preston Crown Court was told yesterday.
The 74-year-old, of Bournemouth, denies the gross negligence manslaughter of 95 of the Liverpool supporters, including 10-year-old JonPaul Gilhooley, at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final.
Richard Matthews QC, prosecuting, said there may have been “an extraordinary series of collective and personal failures” by many of those planning and managing the match against Nottingham Forest.
But, he said, Duckenfield had “ultimate responsibility” as match commander to those who died due to “the wholly innocent activity of attending a football match as a spectator”.
“Each died as a result of the extraordinarily bad failures by David Duckenfield in the care he took to discharge his personal responsibility on that fateful day,” Mr Matthews said, opening his case.
He said 94 of the 96 succumbed to their injuries on the day, while 14-year-old Lee Nicol died two days later and Tony Bland suffered “terrible brain damage” and was in a permanent vegetative state until March 1993 when died.
Because of the law at the time, there can be no prosecution for Mr Bland’s death as he died more than a year and a day after his injuries were caused.
Mr Matthews continued: “It is the prosecution’s case that David Duckenfield’s failures to discharge this personal responsibility were extraordinarily bad and contributed substantially to the deaths of each of those 96 people who so tragically and unnecessarily lost their lives.”
The retired officer went on trial alongside former Sheffield Wednesday club secretary Graham Mackrell.
Mackrell, 69, denies contravening the stadium’s safety certificate and a health and safety offence.
The fans died as a result of the crush in pens at the Leppings Lane end of the Sheffield Wednesday ground on April 15 1989.
Mackrell “effectively shrugged off all responsibility” for important aspects of his role as safety officer, Mr Matthews said.
At the very least Mackrell turned a “blind eye” to the conditions of the club’s safety certificate by failing to agree with police the methods of entry into the stadium, the prosecutor added.
The trial continues.
“Innocent activity of attending a match”
The fatal crush at Hillsborough happened after an exit gate was opened to alleviate crowds outside, the jury in the trial of match commander David Duckenfield has heard.
Prosecutor Richard Matthews QC, prosecuting, said all of the 24,000 Liverpool fans due to attend the semi-final on April 15 1989 had been directed to the Leppings Lane end of the Sheffield Wednesday ground.
He said “almost inevitably” pressure to get through the limited turnstiles grew in the bottleneck outside ahead of the kick-off at 3pm.
An exit known as Gate C, was opened to ease the crush outside after requests for David Duckenfield, then a South Yorkshire Police chief superintendent, to do something before fans were crushed or injured outside.
Mr Matthews said: “He did not, at any time, cause the start of the match to be put back with a view to thereby avoiding any crush at the turnstiles.
“Once in and beyond Gate C, the crowd was naturally drawn down the slope of the tunnel and into the confined area of the central pens.
“David Duckenfield gave no thought to the inevitable consequence of the flood of people through Gate C, nor did he make any attempt to even monitor what was occurring,” he alleged.