Author Topic: * Inquests 2015/16 - News Only Updates *  (Read 132235 times)

Offline BlackandWhitePaul

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Re: * Inquests 2014 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #80 on: April 23, 2015, 10:11:14 am »
I have just heard on the radio, then looked and found this on BBC NEWS.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-32413808

Offline 24/7

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Re: * Inquests 2014 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #81 on: April 23, 2015, 11:51:18 am »
Thanks Paul - was just about to post that.

It's a direct appeal from Stoddart of Operation Resolve to try and help identify 17 potential witnesses who might have valuable information to offer.

Anyone identified and asked to come forward, or who recognises themselves and comes forward, are assured categorically that they will be dealt with sensitively.

Also, please, a reminder to refrain from comment on social media (or elsewhere in the public domain) with any views, judgements or opinions that might fall foul of the Attorney General's Directive. We've come too far to have proceedings jeopardised by careless comment.

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Re: * Inquests 2014 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #83 on: April 30, 2015, 06:23:39 pm »
Hillsborough inquests: Police boss 'asked to concoct story'

A former South Yorkshire Police chief told a man who witnessed the Hillsborough disaster he was asked to "concoct a story" blaming drunk Liverpool fans, the inquests heard.

Sir Norman Bettison was on a business course in Sheffield with John Barry in 1989, while serving as a chief inspector, the jury was told.

Mr Barry said the conversation took place in a pub in the city.

He told the jury he was "stunned" and "staggered" at what Sir Norman said.

Inquests are being held into the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans following a terrace crush at the FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest on 15 April 1989.
Claims denied

Mr Barry, who worked as a civil servant at the time and had attended the game as a supporter, told the court he and Sir Norman met at the Fleur de Lys pub after classes had finished one Monday evening in May 1989.

He said: "We moved away from the bar, stood facing each other six or seven feet away from the bar.

"Norman said: 'I've been asked by my senior officers to pull together the South Yorkshire Police evidence for the inquiry and we're going to try and concoct a story that all the Liverpool fans were drunk and that we were afraid they were going to break down the gates, so we decided to open them'."

Asked how sure he was that those were the words used by Sir Norman, Mr Barry said: "Absolutely certain."

The jury heard Sir Norman "denies the words [Mr Barry] attributed to him".

Mr Barry had seen the disaster unfolding in the Leppings Lane terraces from his seat in the West Stand.

He told the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) he was "gobsmacked" by the alleged revelation, because Sir Norman "knew the devastating effect that Hillsborough had had on me", the court heard.

His statement to IPCC investigators continued: "I thought 'why are you saying this to me?'. It was a very odd thing to say. He knew I had been at the Leppings Lane end and he had seen the bodies piling up and had been totally traumatised by it."

Asked how Sir Norman made the comment, Mr Barry continued: "It was a very matter of fact tone. He was just relating what he had been told to do.

"I was asked about it years later - why did he? I thought maybe he felt that it was a feather in his cap and an indication of how well he was doing in his job."

Sir Norman went on to become the chief constable of both the Merseyside and West Yorkshire Police forces.

Paul Greaney QC, questioning Mr Barry on behalf of Sir Norman, asked: "Can you not understand why it might be thought not at all likely that an intelligent and experienced police officer should admit to you behaviour that was at the very least career-ending?"

Mr Barry answered: "I would have thought it unlikely but it happened."

The court was told Sir Norman had announced on 24 April 1989 he was no longer going to attend the course because he had been seconded "to a team working on the disaster".

Mr Greaney said that meant Sir Norman did not attend a "single class" during May or June of 1989.

Mr Barry replied: "My recollection is he did attend at least one class when he told me what he told me."

In response to the claim his "traumatised state" may have confused him, the witness said: "I have absolutely no doubt of Norman Bettison making that statement to me in that pub on the evening after class. I can remember it quite clearly."

The inquests later heard a second former business student also give evidence about a conversation he claimed to have had with Sir Norman in a Sheffield pub.

Mark Ellaby attended the same MBA course as Mr Barry while working as a local government officer at Sheffield City Council.

He told the court: "I remember Mr Bettison saying that he had just been seconded to an internal team in South Yorkshire Police, who were tasked with making sure that South Yorkshire Police bore no blame for the Hillsborough disaster and it was all the fault of the drunk Liverpool supporters.

"I don't recall the exact words, but I certainly recall those words were the close approximation of what he said.'

Mr Greaney said: "What I'm suggesting is that Mr Bettison never suggested at any stage that the police were going to attempt to paint themselves out of the picture and that you've got that wrong."

The inquests, held in Warrington, Cheshire, continue.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-32533977
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Re: * Inquests 2014 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #84 on: May 6, 2015, 10:45:59 am »
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/05/hillsborough-ex-police-chief-denies-part-in-black-propaganda-against-fans




Hillsborough: ex-police chief denies part in ‘black propaganda’ against fans


A former chief constable of Merseyside police has denied that he was previously a member of a “black propaganda unit” within South Yorkshire police seeking to blame Liverpool football club supporters for causing the Hillsborough disaster.

Sir Norman Bettison, a chief inspector in South Yorkshire police in April 1989 when 96 Liverpool supporters were killed at the FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough, told the new inquests into the disaster that he is “not embarrassed” by the work he did.

The inquests have heard that his work began days after the disaster, when he became part of a team, reporting to then chief superintendent Terry Wain, which gathered evidence from South Yorkshire police officers who had been on duty at Hillsborough.

The purpose of the evidence-gathering, Wain said at a police briefing on 26 April 1989, was to “present a suitable case, on behalf of the force”, to the official inquiry by Lord Justice Taylor.

The force’s draft submission to Taylor based on this evidence-gathering, now known as “the Wain report”, emphasised allegations that Liverpool supporters were drinking and misbehaving, including a description of them as “animals”, but included little detail about police failures to control the crowd.

Bettison wrote the part of the Wain report which described events on the day, but has told the inquests he believes the fans were “in no way to blame” for the disaster. The police, he said, “failed to control the situation, which ultimately led to the tragic deaths of the 96 entirely innocent people”.

Peter Wilcock QC, representing 75 families whose relatives died in the lethal crush on the overcrowded so-called pens of Hillsborough’s Leppings Lane terrace, put to Bettison that he took part in South Yorkshire police’s effort to blame supporters for alleged drunkeness and misbehaviour, rather than accept responsibility.

“Your work on the Wain report inherently involved attempting to blame Liverpool fans even when you knew they were not to blame,” Wilcock asserted.

“Let me be clear,” Bettison replied. “I am not embarrassed by the issue. I wasn’t involved in some black propaganda unit to put the blame on the fans.”

In 1998, when he applied to be the chief constable of Merseyside police, Bettison did not mention the work he had done after Hillsborough within South Yorkshire police. Questioned by his own barrister, Paul Greaney QC, Bettison said this was because he fulfilled that role while in a junior rank, and it was not relevant to the chief constable job application form.

In the controversy in Liverpool following his appointment, on October 14 1998 Bettison issued a press release acknowledging he had worked on Hillsborough for South Yorkshire police, including that he had been in a unit “tasked with looking at what happened on the day of the disaster”.

Asked by Wilcock why he had not made clear that his work for Wain involved presenting “a suitable case” for South Yorkshire police to the Taylor inquiry, Bettison said his press release was a summary.

“It was not a matter of withholding that information,” he said. “It was summarised. It isn’t with a view to highlight or putting in the shadows any aspect of what I did. It is just a summary.”

After Taylor reported, on 3 October 1989 Bettison attended a meeting of the Police Federation with its representative MP, the Conservative Michael Shersby, at which he accepted officers were venting “bile” on Liverpool supporters.

Bettison presented a video at that meeting, which he said had been “hastily pulled together”. It began with footage of football hooliganism, including the 1985 Heysel disaster. One officer quoted in the meeting’s minutes said he believed the Taylor report had been “a whitewash” because Taylor had not believed the police evidence about Liverpool fans’ alleged drunkenness.

Bob Lax, the chairman of the Police Federation branch, said in the meeting that Taylor “tried to rush” his report and went ahead before all the evidence about fans’ drinking had been collated. Tony Judge, the publicity director for the Police Federation, was quoted saying that the South Yorkshire police “repudiate” Taylor’s judgment: “This should come across in a [parliamentary] debate and we should plan with Michael Shersby the ‘counter attack’.”

Bettison said he had been told to attend that meeting by South Yorkshire police’s deputy chief constable, Peter Hayes, because morale was “rock bottom” in the force after Taylor’s criticisms. He said he regarded the meeting as “entirely unprofessional” but “cathartic”, in which people were “getting things off their chest”.

Bettison then went to parliament in November 1998 to show the police compilation video to MPs, at Shersby’s invitation. After that meeting, two unnamed Conservative MPs told him of a “promised attack” on Taylor’s report. Bettison told the inquests he went to parliament to give the MPs more information, not to “provide ammunition for that promised attack”.

The inquests continue.

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Offline PhilScraton

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Re: * Inquests 2014 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #85 on: May 9, 2015, 01:19:48 am »
On Monday the Inquests move to their final phase focusing each of the 96. It is expected that this phase will run throughout the much or all the year. There will be a three week break in August. After hearing the generic evidence for over a year on the background, circumstances and aftermath, the jury will now hear the evidence concerning each of the deaths including pathology and specific circumstances. Obviously it will be a very difficult phase.
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Offline Andy G

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Re: * Inquests 2014 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #86 on: May 9, 2015, 07:22:22 am »
Does anyone have any information as to the dates for each individual Inquest?  I have looked on the Inquests website without success.
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Re: * Inquests 2015 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #87 on: May 9, 2015, 08:54:21 am »
Phil thanks for the update there. I am sure I speak for everyone when I say that our thoughts are with the families and friends of all the victims, who are about to endure what will inevitably be at times difficult hearing during this crucial phase of the Inquests. However, I hope they also take some solace in the knowledge that the full facts are coming out and this is an opportunity for the world to see it happen too - and set the record straight. They have, as ever, our full support and should not hesitate to call on us for any assistance they might require.

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Re: * Inquests 2015 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #88 on: June 16, 2015, 08:10:09 pm »
Hillsborough inquests: father who lost two daughters recalls 'awful choice'
David Conn
Tuesday 16 June 2015 13.44 BST Last modified on Tuesday 16 June 2015 16.20 BST

Warning - upsetting content - do not comment:

A father whose two teenage daughters were killed in the crush at Hillsborough in 1989 has described the “awful choice” he faced when going in an ambulance with one of them while having to leave the other behind, lying limp on the pitch.

Trevor Hicks, who went to the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest with his whole family – his then-wife, Jenni, and daughters Sarah, 19, and Vicki, 15 – told the new inquests into the disaster that when he went with Vicki, he assumed another ambulance would come along shortly for Sarah. He and a South Yorkshire police officer, Peter McGuinness, had carried Vicki into the ambulance, after they and others had been attempting to resuscitate both girls on the pitch.

Hicks said they initially lifted Vicki into the ambulance the wrong way round, feet first. There was another injured person inside already, and when they left Vicki to carry Sarah in, an injured man was put on the ambulance floor, meaning it was full. Hicks said he decided to stay with Vicki, believing that a fleet of ambulances would arrive and that the next one would take Sarah to hospital. The inquests have heard this did not happen, and that only three ambulances, and one from St John Ambulance, went on the pitch.

“I felt dreadful,” Hicks told the court of having to leave Sarah. “I had no choice, I appreciate that. But it doesn’t stop you feeling dreadful.”

Questioned by Christina Lambert QC, for the coroner Sir John Goldring, Hicks described the ambulance rocking around while he, McGuinness and the ambulance officer, Tony Edwards, tried to revive Vicki. As he tried to stay on his feet, Hicks said it was difficult not to stand on the man who was on the floor.

“Part of my PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] problems, I think, were caused by that,” he said.

Hicks had earlier described frantic efforts to revive Sarah and Vicki, whose “limp form” he had seen being carried over the fence from “pen” three of Hillsborough’s Leppings Lane terrace, where the girls had been trapped. Hicks said that from his position higher up on the terrace, next to the police control box, he had called to a police officer to help but said the officer’s attitude “wasn’t going anywhere”.

Hicks went on to the pitch, where Sarah and Vicki had been laid next to each other, and, with others including a doctor who was a spectator at the match, tried to revive both daughters. As a mechanical engineer, he said, he had been given basic first aid training, although he had only ever practised on a dummy before having to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to his daughters.

Hicks told the court that Vicki’s airways were blocked with vomit, and in his efforts to clear it, he had to suck vomit from her throat. “I ended up getting a mouthful of vomit myself. It gave me a problem [later]; I couldn’t drink anything but ginger beer for about six months afterwards, not even alcohol. I’m told it was a psychological trigger, because it was my last contact with the girls really. I literally sucked the vomit out and spat it on the ground.”

When the ambulance arrived at Sheffield’s Northern General hospital, Vicki was taken into a cubicle, he said, where medical staff worked to save her, and he was asked to wait outside. After 10-15 minutes, McGuinness came out again and told Hicks that his daughter was dead. He said he immediately turned his attention to Sarah, whom he thought would be at the hospital by then. The inquests have not yet heard evidence about what happened to her, or Hicks’s efforts to find her.

Anthony Garratty, a Sheffield Wednesday steward at Hillsborough who helped with Vicki Hicks and other casualties, gave evidence after Trevor Hicks. Garratty told the inquests that police who interviewed him afterwards omitted large parts of his account from the statement they wrote up. That included, he said, his evidence that Vicki was “moaning and groaning” when he attended to her on the pitch, and was “100% definitely alive” at that point.

Garratty broke down when describing his efforts, “like an ant”, running around using advertising hoardings as makeshift stretchers to carry people. The casualties included two more of the 96 people who died – Colin Ashcroft, 19, and Peter Harrison, 15. At the end of his evidence, Garratty was thanked by Goldring, Lambert and the barristers representing the families.

Crying, he said to the bereaved family members, about 100 of whom were in court: “I am truly sorry. I just send my condolences to all the people, all the families. I grieve every day for everyone here. And I’ve come here, even though it’s hurt me so much; I’ve had to get it off my head, because I just … it’s groundhog day every day.”

The inquests continue.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jun/16/hillsborough-inquests-trevor-hicks-two-daughters-died-evidence

Offline Zeb

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Re: * Inquests 2015 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #89 on: August 14, 2015, 12:22:02 am »
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/ipcc-hillsborough-update-south-yorkshire-9850352


IPCC Hillsborough update: South Yorkshire and West Midlands police under scrutiny


A police watchdog investigating the Hillsborough disaster today published its latest update into its ongoing work.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is probing the aftermath of what happened the day 96 people lost their lives as a result of a crush at the Sheffield stadium on April 15, 1989.

The IPCC probe and Operation Resolve investigation are running parallel to the inquests into the deaths of fans being held in Warrington.

The watchdog has been working with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to build files of evidence that may be used as the basis for decisions around criminal charges.

They have a team dedicated to looking at what information the CPS needs, ensuring it is structured and presented in the right way, so that any charging decisions can be made as quickly and efficiently as possible once their investigation has concluded.


South Yorkshire Police investigation
The IPCC investigation team looking at the actions of South Yorkshire Police has been splitting up their work into chronological stages and allocating specific resources to each stage.

The aim is to review what has already been established by the investigation and identify any gaps or new lines of enquiry.

These stages cover a period of almost a decade, from the disaster up to and including the Stuart Smith scrutiny and private prosecutions.

The work is looking at how South Yorkshire Police dealt with each of the stages.

CPS
Staff from the Crown Prosecution Service have now moved into office space in Renaissance House, Warrington, where the IPCC Hillsborough team is based.

This is beneficial for both the IPCC and Operation Resolve investigation teams as they look to build case files for consideration of criminal charges.

The aim is to ensure the CPS has as much knowledge as it can have of the investigative work to assist any future consideration of case files.

Amendments to accounts
Work continues around examining all possible evidence of amendments to officers’ accounts.

The IPCC said evidence “continually emerges” which must be assessed to determine whether accounts have been amended and the nature of those amendments.

Media
The IPCC is finalising its investigative work around the media and their dealings with South Yorkshire Police after the disaster.

This has included local and national media journalists, those that may have used information from White’s News Agency and those who dealt with South Yorkshire Police’s press office.

The IPCC is also finalising its work around any liaison between South Yorkshire Police and politicians.

West Midlands Police
The IPCC has been conducting research around West Midlands Police officers who were based in Merseyside and collated information for the Taylor Inquiry into the Hillsborough disaster.

The IPCC said: “We are currently interviewing officers as witnesses to further understand the work they were doing and the directions they were given.

“We have also been interviewing officers who worked in West Midlands Police’s major incident room which was based in Birmingham. This is again designed to further understand the work that was being done in that office.

“We have also begun to research officers who worked on the outside enquiry teams based in the Birmingham office. Work is also ongoing to establish the structure that existed in another West Midlands Police office, located in Sheffield.

“All of this work is to establish how West Midlands Police conducted its investigation into the disaster, what evidence was collated and what briefings officers were given.”

Analysis of the file of evidence that was provided by West Midlands Police to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in 1989 is “well advanced”.

The watchdog added: “The document was intended to enable the DPP to make decisions about whether criminal charges should be brought following the disaster. Our aim is to understand the policies and processes used to build the file and how evidence within it was presented and structured.”

Managed investigation
The IPCC is continuing to oversee Operation Resolve’s investigation into police involvement in the preparation of the match and on the day itself.

Operation Resolve is providing the coroner’s team with material and documentation for the inquests and the CPS for the criminal investigation.

The IPCC said: “In order to ensure that there is no prejudice to those processes, we are limited in the details we can provide about the managed investigation while these investigations are ongoing.

“Work continues to establish the facts around events within the police control box and around the opening of the gates on the day of the disaster. This is being examined in great detail, using audio visual footage and analysis of RACAL tapes; recordings of radio transmissions made by emergency services.

“As part of this work, Operation Resolve carried out a witness appeal on August 3 to try and trace five people who may have information that could assist with this line of enquiry.

“So far two appeals have been closed and the investigative team is now looking to identify witnesses from three appeals.

“A witness appeal continues on behalf of the coroner, as Operation Resolve endeavours to answer family questions by tracing previously unidentified people who came to the aid of those who died. So far, 19 appeals have been closed and the investigative team is now looking to identify witnesses from 28 appeals.”
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Offline 24/7

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Re: * Inquests 2015 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #90 on: September 19, 2015, 08:54:33 pm »
Another witness appeal: are you (or do any of you) recognise the redhead?



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-34284463

Offline MichaelA

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Re: * Inquests 2015 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #91 on: October 1, 2015, 10:03:10 am »
Kevin Williams' inquest today. Words fail me, which is probably just as well.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/hillsborough-inquests-updates-thursday-1-10162303

Offline Zeb

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Re: * Inquests 2015 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #92 on: October 8, 2015, 12:04:11 pm »
Two videos have been released to try and identify witnesses who can help the families get answers.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/appeal-two-videos-released-search-10216561
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Re: * Inquests 2015 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #93 on: October 14, 2015, 04:13:50 pm »
Remember, we can't comment --

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/14/hillsborough-police-officers-notes-amended-inquests-told

A police officer involved in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster had his account of his actions on the day amended by somebody else, an inquest into the deaths of the 96 victims has heard..

Christopher Yates, who was on duty for the South Yorkshire force at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, believed that he attended to Graham Roberts, one of those who died, having identified him as a man he found on the ground at the back of the Leppings Lane terrace at Sheffield Wednesday’s ground.

In a handwritten statement he made on the evening of 15 April 1989, Yates recorded that he had come across Roberts lying on top of a younger, teenage boy. “I removed a male who was obviously dead from beneath the tunnel,” he wrote.

Above that was an addition to his statement, which read: “having been dropped there by supporters”.

Matthew Hill, a barrister representing the coroner, Sir John Goldring, asked Yates of the amendment:

“First question: Is that your handwriting?”

“It is not, no,” Yates replied.

“Second question,” Hill continued. “Did you see that male being dropped by supporters?”

“No I did not. The first time I saw the male was when I found him laid, I believe, face down on the ground.”

In an account Yates gave in 2013 to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, he said of having found Roberts outside the tunnel that led to the “pens” of the Leppings Lane terrace: “I’m sure that the body must have been brought out by the supporters and left there as that was the safest place, not in the tunnel.”

The court, sitting in Warrington, heard further harrowing details about the horror in pen three of the terrace from friends who travelled with Roberts to support Liverpool at the match. He was 24 at the time, an engineering supervisor for British Gas, and was engaged to be married to his fiancee, Sandra Hattersley. Sue Roberts, Graham’s sister, now the secretary of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, described her brother in a personal statement as having been “kind, generous”, a good student and sportsman, who gave her pocket money when he started work at 16.

He was a Liverpool season ticket holder, and went to the semi-final in a group of eight friends, travelling to Sheffield in two cars. They arrived at 2.40pm-2.45pm to find a crush of people outside the Leppings Lane terrace waiting to get in for the 3pm kickoff. They then entered through an exit gate, C, when it was opened to relieve the pressure outside. The group went down the tunnel into pen three and became separated as it became severely overcrowded.

Kenneth Fellowes, one of the group, said in a statement read to the court that Roberts had looked fine when he last saw him alive in the pen, but shortly after that “panic set in”, people became “tightly packed” and he was struggling to breathe. Fellowes said he lost consciousness then woke up on the ground, still in the pen.

“In front of me I could see a pile of bodies,” he said. “People were entangled in one another … and my feet were caught in the pile of bodies. There were people trying to pull me out. I was still coming round and it was very difficult to take in the horror of what was happening.”


Fellowes said that he assumed Roberts must be in the pile of bodies, because of where he had last seen him standing, in the crush on the pen. “The scene was so horrific I thought everyone in the pile must be dead.”

Sue Roberts was sitting in the front row of the public seats in the Warrington courtroom, alongside other members of the HFSG whose relatives died at Hillsborough, and several of her brother’s old friends.

The jury of seven women and three men heard Yates insist under questioning that he had tried to revive Roberts but been unable to, and that his body was then taken and laid down by a wall alongside the river. Eleven bodies were laid down on the ground by that wall, the court heard, and Roberts and five others were certified dead by a doctor, Richard Ashton. A South Yorkshire police superintendent, Leonard Bates, then ordered that the 11 bodies be taken in a van to the Sheffield Wednesday club gymnasium at Hillsborough, which police were using as a mortuary.

In the early hours of the following morning, David Fellowes, Kenneth’s brother, and Paul Dunderdale, another of Graham Roberts’ friends, identified his body in the gymnasium. Sue Roberts told the court in a statement that Dunderdale had come home to Merseyside and first told Sandra Hattersley, Graham’s fiancee, that he was dead. They then went round to the Roberts’ home, arriving at 6am, to break the news to Sue and her parents, Stanley and Daphne, who have since also died. The Roberts family and Sandra Hattersley then travelled to Sheffield to see and identify Graham’s dead body.

The inquests continue.

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Re: * Inquests 2015 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #96 on: January 5, 2016, 10:29:30 am »
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/hillsborough-inquests-expected-hear-final-10685632

The Hillsborough inquests are expected to hear the final evidence in the case today.

The court will sit for its 267th day of evidence and is expected to hear medical and pathology details about six of the victims, including James Aspinall, the 18-year-old son of Hillsborough Family Support Group chairman Margaret, and Tony Bland, who died after spending four years in a coma following the disaster.

The jury will also hear about brothers Nicholas and Carl Hewitt, aged 17 and 16; dad of two David Rimmer, 38, and 19-year-old Post Office worker David Mather.

Once the day’s evidence is complete the court is expected to break until January 25, when coroner Sir John Goldring is due to start his summing up of the case, which started in March 2014.

The inquests, the longest running in British legal history, had been due to finish hearing evidence before Christmas, but two days of the hearing were cancelled after a juror became ill.

In December the jury were told that the coroner’s summing up was expected to take three weeks.

Sir John said: “After it’s over, you will retire to consider a series of written questions which will be carefully set out for you.”

The court will not sit for the week beginning February 15 due to a half term break, meaning that it is likely the jury will go out to consider their decision around February 22


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Re: * Inquests 2015 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #97 on: January 5, 2016, 03:37:00 pm »
The evidence has been heard. A year and nine months. The court will return on January 25th and the judge will begin summing up. The jury is likely to retire around February 22nd to begin their deliberations.

We continue to wait in silence. But. Justice is coming.

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Re: * Inquests 2015 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #98 on: January 6, 2016, 05:42:43 pm »
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-35236522

Hillsborough: Final Anfield memorial service in April 2016

The final Anfield memorial service to remember 96 football fans who died at Hillsborough will take place in April.

Memorial services have been held at Liverpool's stadium in most of the 26 years since the disaster.

Hillsborough families have agreed that this year's service - on the 27th anniversary - will be the final one.

The coroner at the inquests into the fatal crush on 15 April 1989 at the Sheffield stadium will start summing up 279 days' evidence later this month.

The decision to end the Anfield services was made by the Hillsborough Families Support Group (HFSG) following consultation with the relatives of those who died.

On Tuesday, Coroner Lord Justice Goldring adjourned the inquests, being held in Warrington, Cheshire, until 25 January when he expects to summarise the evidence for the jury.

Margaret Aspinall, chairwoman of the HFSG, said: "The 96 will never be forgotten. This final memorial service will provide the families with some closure."

Mrs Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died in the disaster, added: "The HFSG would like to thank everyone for all the support the families have received over the past 27 years and all those people who have attended the service at Anfield each year.

"We hope that the public and fans respect the decision of the HFSG and will continue to remember the 96 in their own, perhaps more private, way."

In the days after the disaster, Anfield became the focus of grief on Merseyside.

A carpet of flowers was laid over the pitch and a chain of football scarves stretched from the stadium, across the city's Stanley Park and to Goodison Park, home of local rivals Everton.

On the first anniversary the club unveiled its permanent memorial to the 96 - a 10-tonne granite block inscribed with the names of the victims alongside an eternal flame.

Since then bereaved families, survivors, Liverpool players and managers have attended the annual service at the ground.

The service has been a very public show of remembrance - but also of the support shown to those affected by the disaster.

More recently it has also helped keep the bereaved families' campaign in the public eye.

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Re: * Inquests 2015 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #99 on: January 25, 2016, 10:27:02 am »
Summing up is now in session, expected to take three weeks. With half term taken into account, that means that the jury is scheduled for dismissal to consider its verdict on February 22nd.

You can follow the most excellent Eleanor Barlow's feed, live from the court in Warrington, on the following link:

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/hillsborough-inquests-updates-coroners-summing-10782822

NB: "Please respect the coroner's instructions and do not comment about witnesses or evidence on social media."

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Re: * Inquests 2015 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #100 on: January 25, 2016, 12:06:05 pm »
Hillsborough inquests: Jury to consider if victims 'unlawfully killed'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-35399814
Quote
The jury at the Hillsborough inquests has been told one of its options is to consider whether the 96 victims of the disaster were unlawfully killed.

The coroner has started summing up after hearing nearly two years of evidence into the 1989 disaster. Sir John Goldring told the jury it would be asked if error, omission or circumstances contributed to the disaster. He said the question of how the 96 died was "the most controversial". There are certain words such as "crime" the jury should not use, he added. However, he said words such as "failure", "inappropriate" and "inadequate" could be used.

Over the next three weeks, the coroner will review evidence on how 96 Liverpool fans died at the FA Cup semi-final in Sheffield.

The jury is due to retire to consider its verdicts on 22 February.

The issue of unlawful killing is one of 14 questions the jury will have to answer which will also include whether opportunities were lost to save lives.

Sir John has called more than 500 witnesses including survivors, police and medical experts during the inquests, which began on 31 March 2014. They are already the longest in English legal history.

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Re: * Inquests 2015 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #101 on: January 25, 2016, 12:23:48 pm »

12:16 ELEANOR BARLOW DID THE BREACH CAUSE THE DEATHS?

The coroner says if they find unlawful killing they must be sure that Mr Duckenfield’s breach of his duty of care caused the deaths.

He says: “It need not be the only cause.
“It is enough if it contributed to the deaths in a significant and not merely minimal way.”
He says they need not say that his breach of duty was the only cause of the deaths.

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Re: * Inquests 2015 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #102 on: January 25, 2016, 05:53:15 pm »
The court heard that among the general questions, which cover topics including the planning and policing of the 1989 FA Cup semi-final and the emergency response, was a section asking the jury about unlawful killing.

The question read: “Are you satisfied, so that you are sure, that those who died in the disaster were unlawfully killed?”

The coroner told the court that according to law the jury could not name the person or people they regarded as responsible in their determination.

But, Sir John told the jury: “In order to answer ‘yes’ to that question, you would have to be sure that David Duckenfield, the match commander, was responsible for the manslaughter by gross negligence of those 96 people.

“When answering this question we are looking at Mr Duckenfield’s conduct and his responsibility.”

He told the jury that in order to answer ‘yes’ to the question of whether the victims were unlawfully killed they must be sure of four points:

* Whether Mr Duckenfield owed a duty of care to the 96


The coroner said it was agreed by all, including Mr Duckenfield’s representatives, that Mr Duckenfield owed a duty of care to people attending the semi-final; the duty he owed was to take reasonable care to ensure people attending the semi-final could attend, watch and depart reasonably safely and that the standard of care he had to meet was of a reasonably careful and competent match commander in 1989.

* Whether Mr Duckenfield was in breach of the duty of care

The coroner said: “You must be sure that Mr Duckenfield’s actions were not those which a reasonably careful and competent match commander would have taken in 1989 so that the 96 people could attend, watch and depart reasonably safely.”

He added: “You should not blame Mr Duckenfield for mistakes made by others and for which he had no responsibility.

“Having said that, it would be possible to say that Mr Duckenfield breached his duty of care by failing, himself, to do or check things or to act on information provided by others or to order others to take certain action.”

* Whether Mr Duckenfield’s breach of his duty of care led to the 96 deaths

The coroner told the jurors that if they answered ‘yes’ to the unlawful killing question they must be sure that Mr Duckenfield’s breach of his duty of care caused the deaths.

He said: “It need not be the only cause.

“It is enough if it contributed to the deaths in a significant and not merely minimal way.”

* Whether the breach amounted to gross negligence


Sir John said: “You have to consider whether you are sure that Mr Duckenfield’s breach of his duty of care to the supporters was so bad, having regard to the risk of death involved, as in your view to amount to a criminal act or omission.”

He says the jury must also be sure that a reasonably competent and careful match commander, in his position, would have foreseen a serious and obvious risk of death to fans in the central pens.

He added: “You consider his conduct in its proper context and you ask yourselves whether, having regard to the foreseeable risk of death to those in the central pens, it was so bad as in your view to be criminal.”

The coroner told the jury: “You should only answer yes to the question of whether the 96 people were unlawfully killed if you can be sure of all four requirements.”

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/hillsborough-jury-asked-david-duckenfield-10785694
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Re: * Inquests 2015 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #103 on: January 25, 2016, 06:09:33 pm »
The daily transcripts, including those from the pre inquest hearings, are available:

http://hillsboroughinquests.independent.gov.uk/hearings/

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Re: * Inquests 2015 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #104 on: January 25, 2016, 11:25:20 pm »
These are the questions the Hillsborough jury has to answer

 The Hillsborough inquests jury today heard the questions they will have to answer about the disaster.

Coroner Sir John Goldring began his summing up of the case this morning and told the seven women and three men who make up the jury that they would be given a general questionnaire, with 14 sections, to complete.

The jury also has to complete individual questionnaires for each of the 96, recording a cause and time of death for all of the victims.

The questions in the general questionnaire were read to the court.

Question one

Do you agree with the following statement: On April 15 1989, 96 people died in the disaster as a result of crushing in the central pens of the Leppings Lane terrace, following the admission of a large number of supporters to the stadium through the exit gates.

Question two

Was there any error or omission in police planning and preparation for the semi-final on April 15, 1989, which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation that developed on the day of the match?

If they answer no, the jury will be asked whether any error or omission in planning or preparation MAY have caused or contributed to the dangerous situation.

They will be able to explain their answer if they wish to.

They were given a list of factors to consider, including whether the system of allowing fans to “find their own level” on the terrace was satisfactory and whether the selection of senior officers should have been different.

Question three

Was there any error or omission in policing on the day of the match which caused or contributed to a dangerous situation developing at the Leppings Lane turnstiles?

If they answer no, the jury will be asked whether any error or omission in policing MAY have caused or contributed.

They will be able to explain their answer if they wish to.

They were given a list of factors to consider, including whether senior officers should have done more to identify the risk of a dangerous build up of fans and what action they did take to deal with the situation.

Question four

Was there any error or omission by commanding officers which caused or contributed to the crush on the terrace?

If they answer no, the jury will be asked whether any error or omission by commanding officers MAY have caused or contributed to the crush.

They will be able to explain their answer if they wish to.

A list of considerations for the jury included whether it should have been obvious to officers in the police control box that the central pens were unusually or dangerously overcrowded and whether commanding officers could and should have taken further action in response to the packing of the central pens.

Question five

When the order was given to open the exit gates at the Leppings Lane end of the stadium, was there any error or omission by the commanding officers in the control box which caused or contributed to the crush on the terrace?

If they answer no, the jury will be asked whether any error or omission by commanding officers MAY have caused or contributed to the crush.

They will be able to explain their answer if they wish to.

The jury were advised to consider factors such as whether commanding officers could have given any further order to stop more supporters going down the tunnel to the central pens.

Question six

Are you satisfied, so that you are sure, that those who died in the disaster were unlawfully killed?

Sir John told the jury: “In order to answer ‘yes’ to that question, you would have to be sure that David Duckenfield, the match commander, was responsible for the manslaughter by gross negligence of those 96 people.

“When answering this question we are looking at Mr Duckenfield’s conduct and his responsibility.”

He said they would have to be sure that Mr Duckenfield owed a duty of care to the 96 people who died, that he breached that duty of care, that his breach caused their deaths and that the breach amounted to “gross negligence”.

Question seven

Was there any behaviour on the part of the football supporters which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation at the Leppings Lane turnstiles?”

If they answer no, the jury will be asked whether any behaviour MAY have caused or contributed to the dangerous situation.

If they answer yes to either questions they will be asked: “Was that behaviour unusual or unforeseeable?”

They are able to give an explanation if they want to.

The jury were given a list of considerations including whether fans behaved in a way which was unusually resistant of police control and whether there were significant numbers of fans without tickets.

Question eight

Were there any features of the design, construction and layout of the stadium which you consider were dangerous or defective and which caused or contributed to the disaster?

If they answer no, the jury will be asked whether any features MAY have caused or contributed to the crush.

They will be able to explain their answer if they wish to.

The jury were advised to consider factors such as whether the Leppings Lane entrance had too few turnstiles for a capacity match and whether the fencing around pens made any contribution to the disaster.

Question nine

Was there any error or omission in the safety certification and oversight of Hillsborough Stadium that caused or contributed to the disaster?

If they answer no, the jury will be asked whether any errors or omissions in the safety certification or oversight MAY have caused or contributed to the crush.

They will be able to explain their answer if they wish to.

The jury were advised to consider factors such as including whether the capacity of the terrace should have been clarified, reconsidered and/or recalculated after changes to the stadium and whether those responsible for the safety certification could and should have raised concerns.

Question 10

Was there any error or omission by Sheffield Wednesday and its staff in the management of the stadium and/or preparation for the semi-final match on April 15, 1989, which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation that developed on the day of the match?

If they answer no, the jury will be asked whether any error or omission MAY have caused or contributed to the dangerous situation.

They will be able to explain their answer if they wish to.

A list of considerations included whether the club should have done more in preparing for the match.

Question 11

Was there any error or omission by Sheffield Wednesday and its staff on April 15, 1989, which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation that developed at the Leppings Lane turnstiles and in the west terrace?

If they answer no, the jury will be asked whether any error or omission MAY have caused or contributed to the dangerous situation.

They will be able to explain their answer if they wish to.

A list of factors to consider included whether those in the club control room had a responsibility to monitor the conditions at the turnstiles.

Question 12

Should Eastwood and Partners (structural engineers) have done more to detect and advise on any unsafe or unsatisfactory features of Hillsborough Stadium which caused or contributed to the disaster?

If they answer no, the jury will be asked whether Eastwood and Partners should have done more to advise on features which MAY have caused or contributed to the disaster.

They will be able to explain their answer if they wish to.

The jury were advised to consider factors such as whether they correctly calculated capacity figures for the West Terrace of the ground in 1979.

Question 13

After the crush in the west terrace had begun to develop, was there any error or omission by the police which caused or contributed to the loss of lives in the disaster?

If they answer no, the jury will be asked whether any error or omission MAY have caused or contributed to the loss of lives.

They will be able to explain their answer if they wish to.

Factors to consider included whether commanding officers should have taken steps to relieve the crush at an earlier stage and whether officers at the perimeter fence reacted appropriately and promptly.

Question 14

After the crush in the west terrace had begun to develop, was there any error or omission by the ambulance service (SYMAS) which caused or contributed to the loss of lives in the disaster?

If they answer no, the jury will be asked whether there was any error or omission which MAY have caused or contributed to the loss of lives.

They will be able to explain their answer if they wish to.

The jury were advised to consider factors including whether SYMAS officers at the stadium could have done more to find out the nature and seriousness of the emergency and react to it.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/questions-hillsborough-jury-answer-10787260
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Re: * Inquests 2015 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #105 on: February 8, 2016, 05:51:48 pm »
From the Echo today, bolded bits are The Echo's effect, not mine - such text also in larger font size on the Echo's page. Original link at the bottom.


Hillsborough inquests jury told they must "resolve the conflict" of evidence on fan behaviour.

Coroner also tells jury to consider the way police statements were changed.

The Hillsborough coroner told the jury it must “resolve the conflict” on evidence concerning the behaviour of Liverpool FC fans on the day.

Coroner Sir John Goldring began his seventh day of summing up of the case after the court resumed following a break of almost a week.

He began summarising evidence regarding the events on April 15, 1989.

He told the jury that the evidence would help them to make decisions on a number of the questions they will be asked when making their determinations.

He said: “Each question concerns a quite different issue, which you will need to resolve.

“Looking at the questions relating to the police, in broad terms, does the evidence show (...) failures by the police which contributed to the dangerous situation that developed?

“If so what were those failures, how did they contribute?

“Does the evidence show that commanding officers made mistakes which made any contribution to the crush on the terrace?

“What, if anything, could and should they have done differently, and what effects would the action have had?

“At the critical time when the order was given to open the exit gates, did the commanding officers in the control box fail to take any action which they could and should have been expected to take?”

He told the seven women and three men who make up the jury they would have to answer a question on whether behaviour of fans caused or contributed to the dangerous situation at the Leppings Lane turnstiles.

He said: “No one suggests there was anything wrong in waiting outside the entrance turnstiles to go in and watch a football match.

“No one suggests there was anything wrong with having a drink before going to a football match. It was commonplace, as we heard, to do so.

“No one suggests there was anything wrong with the fans going through gate C when it was opened at 2.52pm.”


He told the court there were some conflicts in the evidence.

He said: “One example concerns the evidence which we shall be coming to shortly about the situation at the Leppings Lane turnstiles.

“Putting it very simply, a number of police officers, not all, who were in the Leppings Lane area gave evidence which was critical of the behaviour of the supporters there.

“By contrast, many of the supporters gave evidence to a very different effect, that they and their fellow fans behaved normally and sensibly and that their behaviour was no different from that which you would expect at any big football match.”

He added: “As you will appreciate, this is a highly controversial part of the evidence of the day and you will have to make your own assessment of that evidence and your own decisions as to what you accept and what you reject.

“You will have to resolve the conflict.”

He told the jury: “You will recall that the families suggest that the AV material is inconsistent with the evidence of many of the police officers.

“It was put to a number of witnesses that there is no indication on the AV footage of significant misbehaviour by the fans.

“Members of the jury, from your own views, bearing in mind, of course, that the AV footage is valuable, but that it may not show everything that happened.”


He said the jury would also have to consider the way that police officers made statements in 1989 and the way that many of the statements were amended.

Sir John said lawyers representing the families had challenged the way the statements were made.

He said: “In short, they put it to the key witnesses that coordinated efforts were being made to manipulate the evidence and present a false narrative of the disaster.

“Those at South Yorkshire Police involved in the process of gathering and amending statements denied that had done anything improper.”

He added: “It is entirely a matter for you what view you take about the way in which statements were gathered and then amended.

“You will take your own view about the motivations of those involved.

“When considering the evidence of officers, particularly evidence taken from their first accounts, you will need to bear in mind the process by which their first accounts were produced.

“You will also need to consider the particular changes made to the statements of individual officers.

“This may help you to decide what is the most complete and reliable early account of the officer.

“It may also affect your view of the credibility and reliability of the officer.”

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/hillsborough-inquests-jury-told-must-10857806



(Court will not sit tomorrow, so the above words will have 24 hours to sink in............)
« Last Edit: February 8, 2016, 05:53:55 pm by 24/7 »

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Re: * Inquests 2015 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #106 on: March 31, 2016, 12:10:42 pm »
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/hillsborough-inquests-started-two-years-11114591

Summary here of the last two years, including some informative pieces on the summing up element.

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Re: * Inquests 2015 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #107 on: April 6, 2016, 01:13:09 pm »
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/hillsborough-inquests-updates-coroners-summing-11143907

The coroner will finish summing up shortly after 1.45 today, a demonstration on the laptops the jury will use, then they will retire.

Quote
The coroner says the court will break for lunch now and when it resumes will have another five minutes of summing up and then have a demonstration of the laptop they will use.

They will then retire.
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Re: * Inquests 2015/16 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #108 on: April 6, 2016, 02:04:08 pm »
WEDNESDAY APRIL 6th 2016 at 14:04

THE JURY RETIRES

The coroner says: “Members of the jury, thank you all very much indeed.

“I am going to ask you now to retire, please.”

The jury has now retired to consider their decisions.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/hillsborough-inquests-updates-coroners-summing-11143907

------------------------------------------------------------------

HUGE THANKS TO ELEANOR BARLOW OF THE ECHO FOR HER UPDATES.

(So, just over two years after the Inquest started, and just under 27 years since that fateful day, the last throw of the dice is done - no more submissions, no more legal arguments, no more wrangling, no more debating in public. It's in the hands of the jurors - and who knows how long this will take now..........)
« Last Edit: April 6, 2016, 02:07:55 pm by 24/7 »

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Re: * Inquests 2015/16 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #109 on: April 7, 2016, 11:51:33 am »

A juror has been discharged from the Hillsborough inquests on the second day of deliberations.
Coroner Sir John Goldring completed his summing up yesterday and the jury retired to consider their decisions.
But this morning one of the jurors was formally discharged.
The inquests now has a jury of nine, made up of six women and three men.
An inquest needs a jury of seven or more to sit.
The coroner told the remaining jurors: “In the light of all the information I have had, I have decided to discharge the juror number four from continuing to serve on the jury.”
He added: “The information I have had included a medical basis for her to be discharged.”

He told the jury: “We are conscious this has been difficult for you, it has. It has not, if I may say so, been easy for me, or us, either.
“I am confident that you can put all this behind you and deal with what, after all, is your real task, and that is making your decisions.”

   http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/hillsborough-juror-discharged-second-day-11151228
« Last Edit: April 7, 2016, 11:53:46 am by oldfordie »
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Re: * Inquests 2015/16 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #110 on: April 20, 2016, 05:28:20 pm »
From David Conn (twitter I'm sorry).

Quote
Hillsborough Inquests: Jury has reached a verdict on every question except one. They've asked for more guidance on that. Reconvening Monday.

https://twitter.com/david_conn/status/722823385332318209

Eleanor Barlow at the Echo with a more detailed article.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/hillsborough-inquests-jury-reached-decisions-11217373

Quote
The jury in the Hillsborough inquests has reached decisions on all but one topic.

The court, in Birchwood Park, Warrington, was today adjourned until Monday after the jury asked for some guidance as they continued deliberations for a 10th day.

Court resumed just after 1.15pm when coroner Sir John Goldring responded to a note the jury had sent.

Sir John asked the jury forewoman: “Do I correctly understand that you have reached decisions in respect both of the general and the individual questionnaires, the topic that you raise apart?”

The forewoman replied: “Yes.”

The topic which the jury raised was not mentioned in open court, while the jury was present.

The jury, made up of six women and three men, mentioned receiving further guidance in the note and were asked by the coroner to clarify what guidance they needed.

The jurors were sent out again and court resumed at about 2.45pm, following another note from the jury, when the coroner told them to adjourn for the day.

The court will resume on Monday at 10.10am.

The jury has been told to answer a general questionnaire of 14 questions as well as record a time and cause of death for each of the 96 Liverpool fans who died in the disaster on April 15, 1989.
« Last Edit: April 20, 2016, 06:09:39 pm by Zeb »
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Re: * Inquests 2015/16 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #111 on: April 25, 2016, 11:23:05 am »

https://mobile.twitter.com/EleanorBarlow

Hillsborough coroner has told jury he will accept a majority decision on question six - the question of whether fans were unlawfully killed
33 mins ago - Twitter


http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/hillsborough-coroner-tells-jury-accept-11237055

Quote
The jury in the Hillsborough inquests has been told they can reach a majority verdict on the question of whether the 96 victims of the disaster were unlawfully killed.

Coroner Sir John Goldring told the nine jurors today that he would accept a majority decision on question six of their questionnaire.

He said: “You have indicated that you cannot reach a unanimous decision on question six.

“You should, please, continue to try to do so.

“If you cannot, I can accept a majority decision.

“That means a decision in which at least seven of you agree.”

On Wednesday the court heard the jury had reached decisions on all but one topic.

The court, in Birchwood Park, Warrington, was then adjourned until this morning.

The jury have to complete a general questionnaire of 14 questions and record times and causes of deaths for each of the 96.

Question six of the general questionnaire is: “Are you satisfied, so that you are sure, that those who died in the disaster were unlawfully killed?”

The jurors retired to consider their decisions on Wednesday, April 6, more than two years after the inquests into the 96 deaths at the 1989 semi-final began.
« Last Edit: April 25, 2016, 11:25:03 am by swordfishtrombone »

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Re: * Inquests 2015/16 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #112 on: April 25, 2016, 11:23:44 am »
Hillsborough inquests: Jury given unlawful killing majority direction


Jurors have been told they can return a majority decision on whether the 96 victims of the Hillsborough disaster were unlawfully killed.

The jury of six women and three men have been deliberating since 6 April after hearing evidence for two years.
They must agree with a majority of seven whether supporters were unlawfully killed in 1989 as part of a 14-section questionnaire.
The jury has reached unanimous conclusions for 13 of the questions.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-36127689
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Re: * Inquests 2015/16 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #113 on: April 25, 2016, 11:43:39 am »
Hillsborough inquests: Jury given unlawful killing majority direction


Jurors have been told they can return a majority decision on whether the 96 victims of the Hillsborough disaster were unlawfully killed.

The jury of six women and three men have been deliberating since 6 April after hearing evidence for two years.
They must agree with a majority of seven whether supporters were unlawfully killed in 1989 as part of a 14-section questionnaire.
The jury has reached unanimous conclusions for 13 of the questions.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-36127689

A majority verdict can only have two dissenting jurors. Three jurors have been excused during the course of the inquests. If the jury votes 8-1 or 7-2 on question six then a verdict of unlawful killing will be returned.

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Re: * Inquests 2015/16 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #114 on: April 25, 2016, 12:23:24 pm »
Verdicts tomorrow, after 11am.

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Re: * Inquests 2015/16 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #115 on: April 25, 2016, 12:23:54 pm »
@EleanorBarlow (Liverpool Echo)

The verdicts in the Hillsborough inquests will be delivered tomorrow, not before 11am

At least seven of the jury in the Hillsborough inquests have now reached a decision on the question of unlawful killing
RIP Alex Jarmay .                                           Justice  for the 97 YNWA

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Re: * Inquests 2015/16 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #116 on: April 25, 2016, 12:34:41 pm »
Verdicts tomorrow, after 11am.

A reminder that - apart from this board - we will be setting RAWK to 'read only' when the jury returns their verdict.

http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=327189.0

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Re: * Inquests 2015/16 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #117 on: April 26, 2016, 09:41:01 am »

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Re: * Inquests 2015/16 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #118 on: April 26, 2016, 10:07:00 am »
http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/announcements/218276-follow-lfctv-s-coverage-of-the-hillsborough-inquests-verdicts


The Hillsborough inquests' verdicts will be returned today and two days of dedicated programming will be available to watch on LFCTV and LFCTV GO, with no subscription required for either service.


More than two years after proceedings began at the court in Warrington, the six women and three men of the jury are set to answer 14 general questions in determining how 96 supporters died as a result of the disaster on April 15, 1989.


The jury will also return its findings regarding the circumstances of each victim’s death, with individual questionnaires recording the cause and time.
LFCTV will provide updates from Birchwood Park throughout this landmark day with news bulletins, reaction and live coverage of the families’ subsequent press conferences.


Coverage will continue on Wednesday, interspersed with the moving ‘More Than a Number’, a five-part programme in which those who knew them best share their memories of the 96 through the reading of poignant ‘Pen Portraits’.


All those with a Sky box or any Virgin Media subscription will be able to watch LFCTV for 48 hours from 6am BST on Tuesday.


LFCTV is available on Sky channel 429 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and on Virgin Media channel 544 in the United Kingdom only.


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Re: * Inquests 2015/16 - News Only Updates *
« Reply #119 on: April 26, 2016, 11:24:00 am »
1. Basic facts of the disaster

Do you agree with the following statement which is intended to summarise the basic facts of the disaster: “On April 15, 1989, 96 people died in the disaster at Hillsborough Stadium as a result of crushing in the central pens of the Leppings Lane terrace, following the admission of a large number of supporters to the stadium through exit gates.” YES

2. Police planning

Was there any error or omission in police planning and preparation for the semi-final match on April 15, 1989, which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation that developed on the day of the match? YES

3. Policing of the match and the situation at the turnstiles

Was there any error or omission in policing on the day of the match which caused or contributed to a dangerous situation developing at the Leppings Lane turnstiles? YES

4. Policing of the match and the crush on the terrace

Was there any error or omission by commanding officers which caused or contributed to the crush on the terrace? YES

5. The opening of the gates

When the order was given to open the exit gates at the Leppings Lane end of the stadium, was there any error or omission by the commanding officers in the control box which caused or contributed to the crush on the terrace? YES

6. Determination of unlawful killing issue

Are you satisfied, so that you are sure, that those who died in the disaster were unlawfully killed? YES

7. Behaviour of the supporters

Was there any behaviour on the part of football supporters which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation at the Leppings Lane turnstiles? NO

8. Defects in Hillsborough Stadium

Were there any features of the design, construction and layout of the stadium which you consider were dangerous or defective and which caused or contributed to the disaster? YES

9. Licensing and oversight of Hillsborough Stadium

Was there any error or omission in the safety certification and oversight of Hillsborough Stadium that caused or contributed to the disaster? YES

10. Conduct of Sheffield Wednesday FC before the day of the match

Was there any error or omission by Sheffield Wednesday FC (and its staff) in the management of the stadium and/or preparation for the match which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation that developed on the day of the match? YES

11. Conduct of Sheffield Wednesday FC on the day of the match

Was there any error or omission by Sheffield Wednesday FC (and its staff) on April 15, 1989, which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation that developed at the Leppings Lane turnstiles and in the west terrace? NO

If your answer is “no”, please answer the following: Was there any error or omission by Sheffield Wednesday FC (and its staff) on April 15, 1989, which may have caused or contributed to the dangerous situation that developed at the Leppings Lane turnstiles and in the west terrace? YES

12. Conduct of Eastwood & Partners

Should Eastwood & Partners have done more to detect and advise on any unsafe or unsatisfactory features of Hillsborough Stadium which caused or contributed to the disaster? YES

13. Emergency response and the role of the South Yorkshire Police

After the crush in the west terrace had begun to develop, was there any error or omission by the police which caused or contributed to the loss of lives in the disaster? YES

14. Emergency response and the role of the South Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service

After the crush in the west terrace had begun to develop, was there any error or omission by the ambulance service which caused or contributed to the loss of lives in the disaster?

If your answer is “no”, please answer the following: After the crush in the west terrace had begun to develop, was there any error or omission by the ambulance service which may have caused or contributed to the loss of lives in the disaster? YES


Justice, people. Justice is coming.