Hillsborough Inquiry: Prime Minister David Cameron 'Profoundly Sorry'
By Delords - Wednesday, September 12, 2012
David Cameron has said he is profoundly sorry for the "double injustice" of the Hillsborough football disaster.
Speaking after an independent report into previously unseen documents about the tragedy, the prime minister said police had failed to do enough and had also tried to blame Liverpool fans.
Ninety-six fans died after a crush at Sheffield Wednesday's ground in 1989.
Campaigner Trevor Hicks said the report showed a faster response from emergency services could have saved lives.
Mr Hicks, who lost two daughters in the disaster and is a member of the family support group, said it would now press for criminal action against those involved in the disaster. "We feel a breakthrough has been made. The truth is out today and the justice starts tomorrow," he said.
The report has been compiled by the Hillsborough Independent Panel, which scrutinised more than 450,000 pages of documents over the last 18 months.
The victims' families have always challenged the original inquest, which concluded all the victims were dead or brain dead 15 minutes after the game had kicked off at 15:00. Anne Williams claims her son Kevin was still alive at 16:00, and has called for the government to open a new inquest into his death.
By analysing post-mortem test results, the panel found 28 of the 96 victims had no "obstruction of blood circulation" and there was "separate evidence that, in 31, the heart and lungs had continued to function after the crush".
The medical advisor on the panel, Dr Bill Kirkup, said up to 41 of the 96 who died could have potentially been saved if they had received treatment earlier. "In total, 41 people therefore had potential to survive after the period of 3:15. What I can't say is how many of those could have been saved," he said.
Relatives of the Liverpool supporters who died at Hillsborough were handed the report at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, ahead of the media.
Mr Hicks said the families gave the panel a standing ovation when it finished reporting its findings to them and three people fainted as the information came out.
Margaret Aspinall, chairwoman of the Hillsborough Families Support Group, said what the families had gone through was an "absolute disgrace". "They were the liars and we were the truthful ones," she said. "It doesn't make us feel better, because we will always be the losers at Hillsborough."
Dr Bill Kirkup said it was not possible to say how many victims could have survived The Hillsborough Justice Campaign has also welcomed the prime minister's apology.
The report comes after 23 years of campaigning from Liverpool fans and relatives of the victims to find out exactly what happened on the day of the disaster, which saw the biggest loss of life at any UK sporting event.
Here's a Video recording of the Prime Ministers Apology.
Follow our blog on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook. Stay updated via RSS
0 comments for "Hillsborough Inquiry: Prime Minister David Cameron 'Profoundly Sorry'"