Hillsborough inquest verdict - as it happened

We’re closing this blog of live updates now. Many thanks for reading. Our latest story is here.

But after a day at times deeply uplifting but, most of all, desperately sad, we should end as we began, with this chronicle of the life stories of those who died on 15 April 1989. Aged between 10 and 67, they set off to watch a football match and never came home. Today, 27 years later, their loved ones have official confirmation of why the tragedy happened.

With the inquest hearing now over, and the family press conferences complete, it’s time for a final summary.

• The jury into the deaths of 96 people in the Hillsborough stadium disaster in April 1989 has concluded that the victims were unlawfully killed. The jury also said that the behaviour of supporters on the day played no part in the tragedy.
• The jury, answering 14 questions about events, also said South Yorkshire police’s planning for the match and actions on the day did contribute to the disaster. They also found blame in ambulance crews, the state of the stadium, and Sheffield Wednesday, whose ground it was.
• The families of those who died have called on the chief constable of South Yorkshire police, David Crompton, and the head of the county’s ambulance service to resign.
• Crompton has read a statement saying he and the force wanted to “apologise unreservedly” to the families.
• The Crown Prosecution Service has said it will investigate whether criminal charges should be brought against individuals or organisations in the wake of the inquest.
  
• Andy Burnham, the Labour MP who has led political efforts to find out what happened at Hillsborough, has called for prosecutions to take place.
• The jury’s conclusions brought cheers from families of the victims at the inquest, who later gathered outside to sing You’ll Never Walk Alone.
• Tributes have come to the families efforts from the football world and beyond. David Cameron said the inquest proved Liverpool fans were “utterly blameless”. Everton FC said in a statement that the inquest verdict marked “the greatest victory in the history of football”.

My colleague Andy Hunter has sent the coroner’s final words to the jury and to the families.

Sir John Goldring, in summing up, tells the jury:

“You have devoted over two years of your lives to this inquest. Your commitment and dedication has been remarkable, as anyone here present every day could testify.

I suspect I speak for most when I say how hugely impressed I have been. Sitting on a jury for the shortest case is an act of public duty of great importance. Sitting on one for this length of time is public service of the highest order.

It is very important that decisions on matters like the Hillsborough disaster are taken not by lawyers but by members of the public like you. I thank you very much indeed. I excuse you from sitting on a jury for the rest of your lives.

And to the families, he says:

While nothing will remove or lessen the undeniable grief of those intimately connected, I hope you will now gain some comfort knowing the inquest has painstakingly and movingly examined every aspect of the disaster and the jury has agreed its decision.

Many of you have come to the inquest nearly every day. I know on occasion how difficult it must have been sat there listening to the details. I know on occasion you have not agreed with my decisions, but you could not have done any more by your loved ones. You have done your duty by them.

After more thanks to the jury, the inquest process is finished, after two years of evidence and a landmark verdict which has seen 27 years of official deceit and dissembling finally overturned, once and for all.

David Cameron has released a statement saying the families finally have official confirmation that Liverpool fans were “utterly blameless” for the disaster. Here it is in full, via the Mirror’s deputy political editor.

More from the final, closing session of the inquest.

The inquest has reconvened one final time, in part so the coroner can formally thank the jurors for their two years of efforts, a record in the British legal system.

26 Apr 201611.11 EDT

Andy Hunter

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My colleague, Andy Hunter, has this update from Liverpool:

Ninety-six candles stood on the steps of St George’s Hall in Liverpool this morning. Draped above, banners listed the names of the 96 people who we can now say were unlawfully killed at Hillsborough. The candles are still burning – as they will be when the victims’ families gather here for a commemoration at 5.45pm tomorrow – but the banners underwent a transformation shortly after 11am. “Truth and Justice” were added. Finally. After 27 years.

Car horns are sounding repeatedly as they pass St George’s plateau, where people gathered this morning for news from the inquest being held in Warrington. Their numbers grew steadily after it was concluded that the 96 were unlawfully killed and supporters’ behaviour was not to blame for the disaster in 1989. Many more will be back tomorrow.

Inside St George’s Hall, in the opulent concert room where Charles Dickens gave readings from his novels, around 50 family members and friends watched as the verdicts came through on a live stream.

There were loud cheers when question six - “Are you satisfied, so that you are sure, that those who died in the disaster were unlawfully killed?” - was answered with a simple yes. Applause greeted the ‘No’ to question seven – was the behaviour of football supporters a contributory factor? At that point, a man in the front row put his arm across his wife’s shoulders. At the back of the room, a man wept openly.

Later, they listened for over 50 minutes to the individual verdicts that confirmed the medical cause of death and the time of death of their loved ones. In absolute silence, they received the news that 95 of the 96 victims died, or could have died, after the 3.15pm cut-off point that was imposed by the coroner at the original inquest.

As they filed out of the concert room, some of the relatives were asked if they would like to give a comment to the media. With the exception of Margaret Matthews, who lost her 38-year-old husband Brian at Hillsborough, each one declined politely and apologetically. Each one said the same line: “I’m still taking it all in.”

Here’s some more full quotes from the first of the two family press conferences about the calls for the chief constable of South Yorkshire police and the head of the county’s ambulance service to resign, via the Press Association:

Stephen Wright:

The evidence over the past two years has been overwhelming, yet South Yorkshire police and their senior officers have tried to look truth in the eye and deny responsibility and shift blame onto others, in particular, innocent football fans.

For 27 years, we the victims of this tragedy have had to live with the outrage of such institutional denial.

He said the chief constable accepted some responsibility for the force after publication of the Hillsborough Independent panel report in 2012:

However, such a comprehensive admission of responsibility, not only for the disaster and loss of life, but also for the dishonest and outrageous cover-up was not honoured in these current inquests...

For this reason, we the 22 families call for the immediate resignation of David Crompton, the chief constable.

Charlotte Hennessy, on the ambulance service:

Despite having a designated unit at the ground, with two station officers, two other personnel and an ambulance, they failed to react to the disaster unfolding before them.

From both the police and ambulance service it was a hopeless emergency response and undoubtedly increased the loss of life.

My colleague Owen Gibson has sent me this quote from Steve Rotheram, the Labour MP for Liverpool Walton, about the reaction inside the inquest as the conclusions were read out:

It was incredible. I broke down, looked around and thought I’d better keep myself together. I looked around and my good friend Andy Burnham had tears in his eyes, and the families of course. It was an outpouring of grief and relief, I think.

Another photo of the now-ended press conference.

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Some more updates from the press conference from colleagues there.

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Trevor Hicks recounts how the police narrative began even as relatives were identifying the bodies of victims, saying they was asked what alcohol they might have drunk. He says:

It started then and it went on till a few hours ago.

26 Apr 201610.26 EDT

Jane Martinson

To break off quickly from the press conference, the Sun’s former political editor has said the newspaper was not to blame for its infamous The Truth front page headline about Hillsborough. This from my colleague Jane Martinson:

Trevor Kavanagh, the Sun’s political editor at the time of the Hillsborough disaster, has blamed the police and other authorities for misleading the newspaper and defended his role in the story that led to the infamous 1989 headline, The Truth.

Asked if he was sorry about his involvement, he said: “No, I’m not sorry at all. I didn’t have any involvement at all apart from to say that Downing Street had been told [the same thing].”

Kavanagh, political editor of the newspaper between 1983 and 2006, told the Guardian: “We were clearly misled about the events and the authorities, including the police, actively concealed the truth.

“The impact on the reputation of the police service in general has been enormous and continuing and I think that’s a price that the whole of society is paying.”

Kavanagh also defended his old boss and former editor of the Sun, Kelvin Mackenzie, responsible for writing the headline above disgraceful allegations against Liverpool fans.

“I don’t think Kelvin committed any crime and he has made his position abundantly clear many times. We have apologised many times and tried repeatedly to make amends.”

In 2012, 23 years after the disaster, the Sun offered its “profound apologies” under a headline Hillsborough: The Real Truth following an independent report into the deaths.

The paper is still subject to a boycott in Liverpool and families of the victims believe the episode shows the worst excesses of press wrongdoing.

Kavanagh, now the paper’s associate editor, was also appointed to the board of industry regulator Ipso last year. An opponent of the Leveson inquiry into press misbehaviour, Kavanagh said on Tuesday that the press should learn not to trust the authorities: “We were perhaps too ready to accept the evidence from senior police officers at the time”.

Asked to comment on Tuesday’s verdict, the Sun made no comment.

Trevor Hicks says there has been two tragedies – what happened on the day, and the long cover-up subsequently. He says:

Even disgrace isn’t good enough to describe what has gone on for so long.

As the press conference goes on, here is a video report from David Conn outside the inquest.

Margaret Apsinall is asked what she would like to happen next. She replies:

I’m going to leave that in the hands of the CPS and the lawyers.

Jenni Hicks adds that she would like to see some proper accountability for what happens.

Here’s some more updates from this press conference.