After today’s revelations from the Hillsborough Independent
Panel, and the documental evidence they have examined, I’m finding it a little
hard to work out exactly how I feel about it all. Angry. Shocked. Saddened. Relieved. All of
these, and yet none of them, seem adequate. Today was an end in one sense, and
a beginning in another.
The Truth
For twenty-three years, the families of the ninety-six
victims of Hillsborough have been lied to. The victims themselves have been
lied *about*. And in this sense, “victims” refers not just to the 96, but to
those present on that day who suffered through the trauma of the tragedy, and have
had to live with it ever since.
These lies, they said, were peddled and perpetuated by a triumvirate
of the South Yorkshire Police, the government, and certain media outlets. These lies, they said, were created in order
to cover up gross incompetence and lay it firmly at the feet of the football
supporters – whom the police viewed as little more than troublesome hooligans
at large in those days. These lies, they said, were presented as “The Truth” by
media outlets with an agenda, and a distinct lack of moral decency.
And today, Prime Minister David Cameron said this:
“The families were right.”
Imagine it was you. Your loved ones went out one sunny morning
to enjoy something they have spent their life being passionate about. Something
they’ve gone to enjoy time and again. But on this day, they never return. They
are killed in a tragedy that nobody saw coming, yet could so easily have been
prevented. Then imagine you spend the
next 23 years being told that it was their fault, despite knowing otherwise.
Imagine having to face this lie from media outlets, from governments, and from
ignorant or spiteful members of the public. For TWENTY THREE YEARS.
Would you “give up”? Would you “move on?” That is what the
families of the 96, and all who supported their fight for truth & justice,
were told. Finally, their dedication has
shown some signs of vindication.
Any sense of relief I have is for them; that people know now
that their fight was not in vain. Something
they themselves knew all along.
The senses of shock, sadness and anger come from the extent
of the revelations in the Panel’s report.
164 police statements were deliberately amended – 116 of which had
serious negative comments about their own organisation removed entirely. The original ruling of a 3.15pm cut-off point
for medical evidence was proven to be, as suspected, entirely unjustified. How can something like this have happened in
a supposedly civilised country, only 23 years ago?
Support
What has encouraged me is the support we have seen today
from outsiders. From those who have not, perhaps, previously understood the
full extent of the lies and the cover-up. This tragedy is not about football
support, but about life & death, and families losing their loved ones. To
illustrate this point though, I must turn to the football aspect.
Football is a tribal beast by its very nature. It’s not a
side of the sport I particularly like, but that’s irrelevant. The support shown
today from all quarters of the football world show that, by and large, people
are able to put rivalries aside in the face of greater issues. In particular I have seen support from the
closest rivals of Liverpool Football Club. With Everton, you would almost
expect it since it has affected many families of Blues supporters just as much
as Reds.
I have, however, seen support come in from many Manchester
United supporters as well. To those people I say thank you. Thank you for
understanding that this could have been any club, such were the conditions of
stadia and attitudes towards football supporters in those days. Thank you for
understanding that some things quite simply transcend the barriers we place
between ourselves and label “rivalry”.
And this is of course without mentioning support from many
other clubs, domestic and foreign. Thank you all.
As much as I would like to bypass the following on this day,
I feel that these issues cannot be addressed without talking about the
aforementioned media outlets.
The Sun
Several newspapers in the wake of Hillsborough published
stories which were either exaggerated, embellished or simply outright
lies. Most of them, upon learning of their
error, or the inaccuracy of their sources, retracted the stories and/or issued
full apologies.
The Sun did not.
Under the leadership of a vile and despicable piece of
pondlife by the name of Kelvin MacKenzie, The Sun went with an article
headlined “The Truth” and went on to print hurtful lies about the actions of
Liverpool supporters in the ground that day.
Go back to imagining this was you. Imagine reading that your deceased loved ones
were accused of picking the pockets of the dead, or urinating on police
officers, or beating up police officers who were trying to resuscitate victims.
Read that all again. The Sun actually published those
accusations as “The Truth”.
Today, we know what The Truth really is. Today, the Panel
released its report which told us, as David Cameron said, that the fault really
lay with the safety of the crowds having been “compromised at every level.” Media websites across the country were
reporting this, and letting everybody know what had really happened that day in
1989.
The Sun? Of course, no mention at all of it. Instead, they
ran with a completely unrelated celebrity story, whose headline was “Shut up
and move on.” They knew exactly what they were doing with that, and further cemented
their place as the most vile rag unfortunate enough to litter our newsstands.
The Liverpool supporters’ boycott of The Sun is not “banter.”
It is not “a Scouse thing.” Both of these statements, I have heard
first-hand. It is not something to be
joked about. Today, more than ever before, is proof of that.
I would like to think that in light of today’s revelations,
people who never previously understood either the boycott itself, or the fight
for truth and justice, may now realise what it has all been about.
Oh and a note to Kelvin MacKenzie – your half-arsed apology
is 23 years too late, and I for one do not accept it. You said in 2006 that you
“were not sorry then and are not sorry now”, so what’s changed? Oh yes, that’s
right, you’ve been caught out for the filthy lying scumbag that you really are.
Justice
So now that The Truth has been made common knowledge, that
particular fight has ended in a modicum of victory. No true victory can be
achieved of course, because what was done can never be undone. But another fight continues, that being the
one for justice.
Perhaps, with the fight for truth won, and the facts now
solidly supporting it, a campaign for justice can really gather pace.
The families of the 96 never ever gave up on the truth.
Their stoicism finally paid off. I would
hope now that their struggle for justice is more readily understood and
supported than it has been before.
The Truth. At last.
