This page is dedicated to the latest news regarding the long awaited findings of
The Hillsborough Independent Panel
The seven people cover a range of disciplines from police, health, archiving and media including three people with strong links to Liverpool.
The panel are: Phil Scraton, Katy Jones, Peter Sissons, Paul Leighton CBE. Dr Bill Kirkup, CBE. Christine Gifford and Sarah Tyacke.
Useful phone numbers:
For help accessing the HIP documents: 0151 233 3031
Liverpool Careline for anyone wishing to talk about their experiences at Hillsborough 0151 233 3800
Hillsborough Independent Panel Report

The findings of the Hillsborough Panel have shaken the country and at last vindicated the 96 and finally placed the families on the road to true Justice. A copy of the report is available for download. HIP Report download (7MB)
Panel welcomes the government’s commitment to publish all relevant documents
Panel affirms its independence of government
Panel affirms its independence of government
Panel affirms its independence of government
Home Office: Independent panel to oversee Hillsborough disclosure
The Home Secretary has announced the creation of an independent panel, which will be responsible for overseeing the release of documents related to the 1989 Hillsborough football disaster.
Home Office: Experts appointed to Hillsborough paper panel
An expert team has been appointed to the Hillsborough Independent Panel, Home Secretary Alan Johnson announced today.
Home Office: Hillsborough Panel to continue
Theresa May confirms that the panel has full government support to continue in its role overseeing publication of all publicly-held documents.
I was in my 40s when the disaster happened, and lived a very long way from Liverpool, yet watched in horror at events. I know from experience that our instutions play their own game with total disregard for the ‘little’ people who are treated with contempt. I have been utterly amazed at how the families who have been unflinching in the fight for the truth have maintained a calm dignity in the process. I have just seen the BBC documentary, ‘Hillsborough, How They Buried The Truth’, and I feel I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the families and supporters who have campaigned for the truth. They have fought to uphold one of the basic values that is supposed to define our national life, which collusive and corrupt institutions have spat upon. The true extent of this and every other cover up is relevant for every member of our society, and I hope it encourages others to fight for real justice, not something subservient to Masonsw’ lodges. After seeing the documentary, I felt I was almost a part of it and became overwhelmed with grief. It was as if 20 years of sorrow flooded out all at once. Some of you are continuing the fight and I feel so humbled when all I can say is that I hope my seething anger will let you all know that you really are not alone.
I have personally been fighting a massive cover up for years in relation to (Attempted murder by a gang armed with machetes hammers and bats and also the fabricating of an Arson with intent to endanger life allegation against the victims family by the attackers who conspired with Merseyside Police further) There has been a massive conspiracy by The PCA IPCC CPS and Merseyside Police (overseen by Norman Bettison and Bernard Hogan Howe Met Commissioner) for a number of years. I have a full file and also a fabricated Interview Tape made by Merseyside Police in coercion with all parties under Bettison and Howe. The evidence contained within is damming! It is just a normal everyday thing for these institutions to cover things up. My experience proves this. The Powers that be are more concerned with how it looks..than how it is!…Victims are irrelevant to them! FACT.
As you will see the Judiciary is so corrupt and so crafty and cunning it will all die out
You will push and push and get nowhere
The ” editing ” of the witness statements by the Police is laughable - that is ” making and using a false instrument ” - you are being conned continuously by the Police - the Police are MASTERS at conning the citizens
The Police are criminals in uniforms - their primary concern is making money for themselves - they are ruthless psychopaths using the Police authority to keep themselves in power
In 2000 to 2010 they made themselves the Government and England was a Fascist Police State
The Judiciary DO what they want - irrespective of evidence and facts
All Judiciary and Judges and Chiefs of Police are ” good stock Free Masons ” and sworn to protect the brotherhood
Free Masons have been historically the greatest problems of the Courts
Free Masons ” see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil ” on their brothers - especially the Chiefs of Police that are all Free Masons
The I P C C is useless - heavily infiltrated by the Police and controlled by the Police
Even the Police Crime Commissioners now have an Association that was set up and put up by Sir Hugh Order so he could control the PCCs
The Police manufacture evidence - they forge and falsify witness statements - they remove evidence - they speak to the Judges on the side, they alter the facts, the evidence - they are mostly crooks
The only way to stop them is an Internal Affairs like the USA that would actually investigate their crimes
And the ONLY non corrupt Chief of Police is Bernard Hogan Howe the new Met Commander and only he would be able to set up an Internal Affairs
The ONLY way you will see change is when JACK STRAW goes and SIR HUGH ORDE goes
They are Master Puppeteers, pulling the strings
You will not get anywhere as you will see - the Judiciary is a closed corrupt circuit that is an impregnabel fortress
ALL Judges are Free Masons and as such sworn NOT TO ATTACK the Police as the Chiefs of Police are all Free Masons
For heavens sake! - KNIGHTING Englands most prolific sex offender ( Jimmy Saville ) and covering up hundreds of crimes of sexual offences many on children and mentally impaired - HOW MORE CORRUPT can the Judiciary be?
And WHO covered up Jimmy Saville?
Jack Straw
Sir Hugh Orde ( President of ACPO )
Just heard the news about Anne,can not put my feelings into words.Hope you can witness the justice.
Big hug from me and my family top girl.
Keep fighting for the justice every victim deserves, you have the support of the general public here. Once again an obvious coverup which most people thought from the word go. I think most people realised early on, the corruption which is evident within the police authority and the powers that be, you are all to be admired for fighting so strongly and for so long.
As for police compensation of course it stinks still doesn’t it, but they have to live with themselves and truth will prevail I’m sure from now on through your hard campaigning for justice, let the love of those you lost continue to drive you on for full exoneration and for the perpetrators to suffer for their lies. Our support is always with your group.
We are glad the documents are available on line about time!
What baffles me is why SWFC arent seen as the main cause of the violence. A senior police officer requested a gate be open for fear of loss of life outside due to inadequate turnstile provision. The SWFC in possession of no safety certificate that day, whose chairman rejected police claims that in two previous crushes at the ground, deaths had narowly been avoided by police intervention with :”Bollocks! noone would have died” (sickeningly ironic). Put ‘costs above fans’ safety’ and refused to alter the tunnel/turnstiles layout to allow turnstiles to run onto separate tunnels (all of which would have averted this horror). A police officer opened the gate, but SWFC created the conditions to make it lead on to mass slaughter. Yes, i have read all witness statements and the whole report.
Love and prayers to all the families involved. I hope that the news today culminates in the justice they have been seeking for so long. I am appalled that they have had to fight for so long and the system has been against them all the way. It must be terrible enough to lose a loved one in such dreadful circumstances but to have to spend nearly twenty five years fighting to find the truth as to exactly what happened to them and bring the people accountable to the fore beggars belief. I cannot believe a coroner could find it acceptable to not be interested in what happened after the cut off time of 3.15. The fact that some people could have lived if they had been given proper medical care sickens me. My heart grieves for all the families have been through.
Another massive step forward today.
Can not believe that Betison is not suspended a third refereal by his local Police Authority.
Hope people believe the net is closeing and can not sleep easy.
Accountability is all i want.
You are all pure class the way you have handled this injustice YNWA
JFT96
Bettison not the ideal outcome for me but it is not about me.
would of rather seen him under a formal investigation must of felt the collar being tugged.
Lets up the pressure on the FA to answer there failings
i watched the play hillsborough the other night i can not beleive that you are stilll fighting for justice 23 years later respect to all of the families
you deserve the truth
Just to say a massive big thank you to, Margaret Aspinal and Trever Hicks, and all the family Support Group and other groups. Without them we would have never got to where we are today to hear the Independant Panel confirm what we all knew was the truth.
A big pat on the back to all of you.
THANK YOU
I have always grown up to respect the police and would be in fear of seeing one close up in uniform but it is now with shear dismay that I am losing my faith in the justice system when the arrogance of a senior policeman, Norman Bettison who can stand up in public and deny that he has nothing to hide and welcomes an investigation into the deaths of 96 people. There is no justice to the families of the 96 when this man has been given the opportunity to resign and not be sacked. He will “retire” with all the financial benefits, so this will not effect his life. But there are other questions that needs to be asked about other matters he has also covered up. Recently he supported a policeman who was dealing in drugs and should be on the sex offenders register and has become a walking time bomb and is still in the force, so it would cover up the innocent jailing of a police officer and the failings of the West Yorkshire Police Force and he has covered up serious offences of another who went to court on lesser charges of view pornographic pictures of children when there were more serious pictures that he was aware of so this person pleaded to lesser offences and therefore did not a custodial sentence. So you tell me how much more has this man covered up in his police career, more than the above no doubt. The local MP’s are aware of all this and again they need to be questioned as to why they do not want any investigations into this man. This is totally despicable to the human race that the likes of this man can walk away with his pension and no doubt a “payout” for his shambles of services to the police force. So I do not see the police uniform in the same way and they are not all bad apple in the basket, but the influence of people in such a powerful post can groom others and they think they are untouchable and above the law, and seems if you resign you have been spared !!!
I watched the Hillsborough film on TV. I was moved and saddened. I cried for the 96 victims and for the families. To the families and friends I applaud and admire you for your courage, determination and strength in fighting for THE TRUTH.
I watched the dramatisation on ITV last night and sat with tears streaming down my face and could not sleep for the night, I have not been able to focus at work today for thinking about what happened. I remember watching the Hillsborough tragedy as it unfolded on the T.V. I was only nine years old at the time. I was able to see what an awful disaster it was, but, only now as a mother myself and having watched my own son on a life support machine at the age of three (albeit whilst being treated with sensitivity and respect by medical professionals in an appropriate hospital setting), can I begin to comprehend how harrowing the lost of their precious family members must have been. You are so very brave to maintain your fight for justice for so long. Along with my husband, father-in-law and eldest son we go to watch SWFC play at home without giving it a second thought that we will have a lovely (if they win!) afternoon out - how lucky we are, and how sad that so many loved people had to die in such a treacherous manner for us to have the luxury of knowing that we sit in a seating only ground. I am sorry to be so dis-jointed, but, I am overwhelmed with grief for you all. I promise that I will make sure that my children will know and never forget what happened at their beloved football ground so that we can ensure that such a waste of life never occurs again. Love to you all.
I don`t like football ,have never really given any of it much thought. Hillsborough to me was just Hillsborough , it was just a terrible accident that took so many lives, but just watched it on ITV ,so very sad , I cried, my husband has just told me all about it. Shouldnt have happened. So pleased that finally the truth is out. My heart goes out to all those families that have campaigned. All of those families that lost loved ones. Most of all may all to those 96 individuals that were taken on that dreadful day finally rest in peace. god bless you all , sleep tight .RIP
After watching the hillsborough document drama on itv tonight. I’ve realised a bit more just how awful that day was and applaud you all for fighting for so long. The 96 would be so proud of u all xx #jft96
Hi my father attended the Hillsborough tragedy, and was actively involved in the removal of injured supporters, from the pitch, this can be verified as we have photographic evidence, although he didn’t claim for any compensation at all at the time, in light of the recent disclosure, of the suppression of incriminating evidence, would he be entitled to compensation now?
The Hillsborough Family Support Group have never been seeking compensation, our fight has been to get the families and survivors exonerated. We have now achieved this and our next step is to fight for accountability for our loved ones and to seek to change their inquest verdicts. That is all we can do for those who never came home that day.
On behalf of my mother June, we the relatives of Eric thank everyone for your support
I can only wish the families, loved ones and survivors, respect, peace and support. I am pleased to be able to read the Report, now available online, together with many statements, letters and other documentary evidence.
The memory is still so clear a beautiful spring day,A car trip with my 2 brothers and nephew,no beer just a future trip to wembley in my mind.
Chaos outside the turnstill.up against the wall as the police lose all control not going in there.
then the gate opens up just to my right i am in not going down that tunnel memorys of the previous year still fresh in my mind.
take the easy option up into the stands no ticket check,there but for the grace of god.out of respect the rest is in my mind.
Get a visit from West Midlands police,How much did you drink,did you have a ticket,they then tell me what happened already briefed on there report.
When cameron spoke in the house i cried so happy, so sad,so angry Trevor,margret,ann phil and all the familes so proud of your fight and resolve the truth is out the fight for justice begins
South yorkshire police
west midlands police
the fa
sheffield city council
the ambulance service
Mckenzie
betison
bernard ingham
margaret thatcher
douglas herd
jack straw
i look forward to all your rolls in this injustice jft96 ynwa
THE DECLARED INTENTION OF THE CHIEF CONSTABLE OF SYP TO LAUNCH A POLICE ENQUIRY IS specious to say the least. once it under way, he will have total control of all enquiries, official or private, and one someone has been interviewed and bailed, he will use the sub judice rule to ban publication of any details. in my opinion, the police investigation is designed to frustrate and obstruct, and should be undertaken by an outside force together with members of the independant panel.
i am a retired officer of the force and nothing it has done has surprised me.
I think that there were many other factors that combined to cause the Hillsborough tradegy.Lets not forget they were a section of Liverpool supporters who were drunk and out of control , they were seen to urinate from the stand on fans in the cop who were desperately trying to get over the crowd control barriers.My close friend was a police woman on duty that day in the ground, whilst she was giving the kiss of life to dying fans she was pelted with bottles and beer cans by liverpool supporters. they were not the angels people are now making them out to be.As the media states they did not help the situation. there were many young police officers and emergency service crews who tried desperately to save peoples lives they should not be tarnished with the same brush as the senior people at the top who made the wrong decisions and who are ulitmately rsponsible for the alleged cover up.My marriage broke up due to this tragedy my police officer husband could not cope with the sights of death he witnessed or the total feeling of helplessness as he helped to identify the victims as they were laid out side by side. I feel deeply for the families who lost loved ones but there are many other victims of that day who are also still suffering lets not forget this!
Jan, your comments are a disgrace - particularly within this formum and at this time. Have you not seen the independent report nor seen the TV coverage? Lies were told by the police and given to the press - all that urinating rubbish was concocted in a malicious attempt to put the blame on the fans, whose actions were heroic compared to many of the police. Those people in the stands above the crushed pens were saving people’s lives by hauling them up. I know - I was there. If the accusations you continue to perpetuate were true, why is there no footage of it? BBC cameras filmed the entire thng from before 3pm until after 4pm. Even the police have film over all of that period. It was pure fabrication - Senior South Yorkshire police officers and Irvine Patnick (local Conservative MP) were all in on the act. And in any case, such actions could not conceivably be seen to contribute to the causes of the disaster. The way you write suggests to me that you are not particularly bright (no offence) and you have been led by the nose. A female police officer was sent by her superiors in the South Yorkshire Police to make sure that her colleague changed the time of death of Kevin Williams from 3:50 to 3:15 (even thiough Kevin died in her arms at 3:50) so that the police could get their story right. There are countless other instances of this sort of thing happening to many other police officers. The sheer scale of the cover up is absolutely staggering. So although you are right to say there were many honest constables on duty that day who were genuinely horrified and tried to help, there were also a number who didn’t take kindly to crushed Liverpool supporters telling them in no uncertain terms that their lack of organisation was a disgrace. While Liverpool fans improvised stretchers to take the fans to what they thought would be ambulances waiting outside, many of the police in turn abused those fans. Read the report. I know it is very difficult to change your mind about something when you have been utterly convinced for so long - especially if a friend has passed on misinformation. Make no mistake, this was an almighty cock up by the authorities (police, Sheffield Wednesday, ambulance service and FA), followed by an almighty stitch up which has now been fully exposed. You cannot go on believing such malicious lies. Unless you want to, of course. There are always people who will believe what they want to, regardless of the facts.
There is no point trying to respond to this sort of nonsense. I believe in freedom of speech but not when it it comes to repeating discredited lies. This offensive posting should be deleted.
Agree with Glyn on this but still stunned that anyone would write what jAN has written, in case anyone else missed it…”all LFC supporters fully exonerated”, peeing on the injured, on cops, stealing from the dead and dying…it was ALL lies. Liverpool has had a bad reputation for a long time thanks to biased media, scousers are no different than the people of any major city and just like people of any other major city, they are quick to pull together and help each other when needed and thats exactly what happened at Hillsborough, unfortunately those who are expected to help at times like this didnt help (not all of them) and I have to say, I saw this on TV when it happened, the TV went live there and I was yelling at the TV, “get them out of there”, “why arent you helping them” and quite frankly Im sick of hearing that cops and ambulence people held back because they were told to…where was their common sense? where was their basic human compassion? where was that basic human need to help someone when theyre in trouble? I can understand the ambulance people as they werent inside and couldnt see how bad it was but I will never understand why those cops who in some cases actually pushed people back over the fence or stood back and did nothing. Many lives were affected by what happened that day, I never lost a family member there, I did lose a friend who I went to school with, a guy who I hadnt seen for years then moved near to where he lived, we used to chat every morning waiting for the bus, he was going to work and I was taking my daughter to school…he was a genuinely nice guy, he wasnt a yob, he wasnt a drunk, he was a nice guy just trying to make a living, he wasnt even supposed to be at that match only his cousin couldnt go so he got his ticket…such a tragic loss. People need to realize now that the papers have all come out, the truth has finally all come out…there were plenty of faults, plenty of ‘mistakes’ (if you can call them that)….and none of them were the fault of ANY LFC supporters there that day.
Jan, How can you say all that, when EVERYTHING you have implied is lies and has been proven to be lies. I lost my brother that day, we recently found out he was one of the 41 that could have been saved, and it has ripped our hearts out once again!! We can all do without people like you if I`m being perfectly honest!! There are MANY MANY people to blame for that day and I`m afraid the fans are NOT one of them!!! I suggest you take a look at the Independent panel`s report and re think what you have said. As a Hillsborough affected family we are horrified by the lies that have been uncovered and what we have found out recently!! you are entitled to your opinion, but may I suggest if you want to air it, that you do it elsewhere!!
lt’s ABSOLUTELY disgusting that several Police officers including martin long, received compensation for (Doing their job) working at Hillsborough. I dealt with the regents park & several other London bombing scenes during my time in the force. Terrible experiences, ask for compensation certainly not, its called doing your job like any emergency service personnel. Any police officer who got compensation should be asked to pay it back as it devalues those who do an outstanding job.
Well said .
Glad to see you have got to the truth for the sake of the 96 that needlessly died through police incompetence and neglect.
I hope you push now for a fresh coroner’s Inquiry for each and everyone which should return a verdict of unlawful killing through Neglect.
I found the documentary moving and upsetting, and hope that now you can all find peace in your loss and begin to move on as your relatives would have wanted you too. I found it horrifying that relatives were not allowed to say good bye to loved ones and that so many died needlessly because all the services let you down.
I am sorry, that the emergency services let you down, but despite the so called British sense of fairness, corruption is rife within Britain and has been for years. Thinking of you all and keep up the fight for a fresh coroner’s hearing and pursue it via judicial review. It will bring you closure. And I believe strongly those members of the police who doctored witness statements should be held to account for perverting the course of Justice.
I am sorry, for my message being in capitals due to a keyboard error, but I sense your anger and you have every right to be angry. God bless you all.
THANK YOU AS A HILLSBORO FAMILY WE HAVE GAINED STRENGTH ROM THE PUBLIC SUPPORT
23 years too LOng in coming. the kop has never forgotten 96 reasons for justice. ynwa
We knew all along that the truth would eventually come out, but to take 23 years ! For those who CAMPAIGNED hold your heads high today,you were right. You’ll Never Walk Alone
Never for a moment did I think the fans were to blame. am so glad this has been pursued by the families: their determination to get at the truth is admirable, the time and resources they have had to find and put into this is a lesson for us all. I am so sad that our great country is being blighted by those in positions of authority abusing that authority for their own ends and forcing others to comply or suffer. in this case, those suffering have turned the tables - let there be more like them.