IT has already taken over 23 years, but a date has finally been set for the release of secret government and police documents on the Hillsborough disaster. On 12 September, the Hillsborough Independent Panel will release thousands of papers to the families of the 96 who died because of the tragedy.
The families might just get the closure they have been looking for all this time.
What happened at Hillsborough on 15 April 1989 was tragic; not only because so many people died, but also because of the lies that were told in the aftermath of the disaster. There are still people now who ignore the findings of the Taylor Report, which concluded that the failure of South Yorkshire Police to control the crowd was the main reason for the tragedy. Whether it is because they believe the falsehoods told by Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield and The Sun, or because they think they know better than Lord Justice Taylor, some people still blame the Liverpool fans for the disaster or worse, claim that the fans who lost their lives deserved to die.
The attitude of these people adds to the pain caused by Hillsborough. It is also one of the many reasons why it is about time that the documents relating to the tragedy were released. After the papers have been released to the families of those who died, they will be disclosed to the wider public. This should make it easier for people to have an informed opinion on what happened that day.
Documents leaked to the BBC have already revealed that Margaret Thatcher, who was Prime Minister at the time of the tragedy, was told a senior Merseyside police officer blamed “drunken Liverpool fans” for the disaster. This claim contradicts the findings of the Taylor Report, which stated the majority of supporters were not drunk and that “some officers, seeking to rationalise their loss of control, overestimated the drunkenness in the crowd”.
It may be that when all of the papers are released, more controversies such as that one are uncovered. However, regardless of what information can be found in the Hillsborough documents, the fact that the families of the victims will finally be able to read it is far more important than the media and the general public being able to find out more about the disaster.
The Hillsborough Independent Panel, which will be releasing the papers, has examined over 400,000 pages of documents from more than 80 different organisations. Anything the families of the 96 wish to know about what happened that day, they should be able to find out come 12 September. Hopefully, the documents will help ease their pain.
Though I was not born until two months after the Hillsborough disaster, I have always been affected by the tragedy. I cannot even imagine what it must have been like to be there that day, or how it must feel if you know someone who died because of the disaster, but I can understand that when you attend a football match, the very least you expect is to come home from it. On 15 April 1989, 96 fans went to a football match, just like thousands more did that day and just like millions more people have before and since then. The only thing that separates the 96 from you, me and everyone else who has ever been to a football match is that they never came home. That is something every football fan should be able to relate to, not just Liverpool fans.
For that reason, I am glad that the documents relating to the tragedy will be released in three months time and I hope the information those documents contain can bring the families of the victims peace.
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Good luck to all the families. JFT 96.