Duckenfield

Yep, its the reason he's decided admit his errors and apologise after 26 years of silence too. Much like the PM on behalf of the government and that rag, they had little choice considering the revelations exposing them all over the last couple of years.

Would any of them have ever said anything if the families hadn't fought tooth and nail for twenty-six years to get justice? Would they have said anything had the government not agreed to re-open the case a couple of years ago? Not one of them would have said a word!

 

He could have apologised after the publication of the Taylor report and also after the findings of the independent enquiry were published

 

If we're playing the 'what if' game, he could have not lied in 1989. Or better still, he could have not neglected his responsibilities in the first place, he might have been better placed to do his job at Hillsborough then!

But yes, he could have admitted he'd lied a lot earlier but he was never going to willingly admit it. Same with all the others. The lie was far too big and they all knew the outrage the revelations would cause. As I said, they've only spoken now because they've been forced into a corner.

 

Totally agree

 

The next **** to hit the fan with South Yorkshire police will be when the truth comes out about what happened at Orgreave during the miner's strike in 1984
South Yorkshire police = shower of ****s

 

I'd rather see Bettison in the **** first!

 

When is he due to give evidence ?

 

I don't know, not been keeping track with the proceedings as much as I'd like. Just check the Liverpool website for updates most days and scan through to see what's for direct quotes, if anything big happened then I read in a bit more detail.

 

I'm getting my info from the Guardian's David Conn who's tweeting updates from the proceedings

 

Duckenfield was the most senior officer on duty at Hillsborough that day, his evidence today(if rightly believed by the jury)means that other senior officers that gave evidence earlier in the inquests and stood by what they said in 89 and to the Taylor Report have committed perjury, watch them sing like canary's trying to dodge a court case, they'll put Bettison's head on a platter.

 

I'm not trying to be a pedant but the evidence given at Taylor wasn't given under oath unlike the current inquest.I suppose there could be the question of perjury being commited at the original inquest

 

I know gc, but many officers have unfortunately for them given evidence(the same as they gave to Taylor and the original inquests)before Duckenfield dropped his bombshell yesterday, that evidence made under oath can now be used against them due to their lies being out in the open.

 

The 'simple' fact is, moron, that even 26 years ago they Taylor Report said the 'thousands of drunken ticketless fans' narrative was a myth that was not supported by any evidence whatsoever, and played no part in the causes of the tragedy. In fact, could you be arsed to read it, you'll see that the HSE (who never renewed the stadium's safety certificate for this game, btw) studied videos of the Lepping's Lane End and the crowds outside and estimated that had the total number of fans been correctly marshalled into the pens (and had the full, central pens been blocked off by the police as their own stadium plan stated, then there would have been at least a hundred fans under-capacity for the game.

If the gates had been opened because of 'thousands' of such fans, the why did a) the police lie about it, and b) all the cctv tapes in the control room that only the police have access to disappear (and was given crime number as such by the police, and to which they acknowledge nobody else but the police could have taken)?

But don't let the 'simple' facts of that stop you believing what a desperate police force, government and its supporters in the tabloid press at that time wanted disinformation fodder like yourself to swallow.

 

I've stated for years that, had the police immediately admitted their error and not tried to blame the fans for breaking down the gates that there would have been some sympathy for Duckenfield and the situation that he, a woefully under-prepared officer in charge of a major sporting event that the police, let us not forget, charge a ****ing fortune to oversee and will not let the clubs organise their own security for, found himself. The fact that he was unaware of the 81 semi when something similar nearly happened to Spurs, and that he discounted the numerous reports of hundreds of fans still on the M62 due to roadworks and he knew that there would be a last minute crush - all of this supports the evidence that the police as an organisation, and he in particular as its head, were quite simply guilty of a failure of duty. But it was what happened after that was the despicable thing.

The story of fans breaking down the gates should have been nipped in the bud by an even half-competent management, that must have known it to be false from their own officers on the gates and would be proved so very easily. Or were they already aware of the 'missing' cctv tapes, an had their fingers crossed that it would just be their word against the fans? They weren't to know the BBC were also filming the fans and the opening of the gates. But when it come to light that this version of the fans breaking down the gates was false, then that was the moment of truth - be professional, admit what happened, and faces the consequences: or set up a special black propaganda unit under Bettison to utilise their confederates in the media and the very top of government to smear and deflect upon the lowest common denominator.

And I contest that only in this country and the former Soviet States or Apartheid SA would the authorities have gotten away with such an obvious and transparent set of lies and deceit. So much for all that muck about a free press not being shackled so that it could hold the rich and powerful to account - that only happens if the rich and powerful Murdochs of this world allow it. And we can so from the like of Miggins why they know they can get away with such lies ; there's always enough vermin willing to lap it up.

To blame that crush on ticketless fans is like blaming the handful of stowaways for the fact that there wasn't enough places in the lifeboats for the passengers on the Titanic.

 

A proper house of cards here, it's to be hoped. Now that one's fallen, the rest should follow, with the **** Bettison right in the crosswires.

 

The people of Liverpool knew the score from the very beginning, mate. We look after our own.

 

I heard that too, mate. Absolutely ****ing unbelievable. "I don't know why I did it". Because you were told to, you vile ****.

 

I was only eight at the time so didn't pay much attention. But when reading bits and bobs afterwards it always seemed clear to me that something wasn't right.

 

At least he's admitted it now though, opens a whole can of worms on the others now that one is no longer towing the line with the twenty-six year lie! Even better with it being the guy that was central to it all.

 

I just hope it leads all the way back to the evil dead bitch. No-one will EVER convince me that she wasn't privy to it and almost certainly sanctioned the whole sordid ****ing mess.