The government has been ordered to release cabinet records of discussions in the immediate aftermath of the 1989 Hillsborough stadium disaster. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was briefed about the tragedy and held several meetings about the disaster in which 96 Liverpool fans died. Information Commissioner Christopher Graham ruled that the information was in the public interest. The Cabinet Office said it had yet to receive the commissioner's ruling. Mr Graham's judgement relates to a Freedom Of Information (FoI) request from the BBC which was refused by the Cabinet Office in 2009. The government has either 28 days to appeal or 35 days in which to release the documents. The secret files include reports presented to Mrs Thatcher and correspondence between her office and the then home secretary Douglas Hurd, and minutes of meetings she attended. Mr Graham's decision notice said the "specific content of the information in question would add to public knowledge and understanding about the reaction of various parties to that event, including the government of the day, in the early aftermath". Mr Graham also criticised the Cabinet Office for "unjustified and excessive delays" in handling the BBC request. The request had been followed by an internal review which upheld the refusal. Relatives of the Liverpool fans who died in the Hillsborough tragedy said they were pleased they might discover Mrs Thatcher's thoughts on the disaster. They expressed surprise that the commissioner had ordered the Cabinet Office to release the documents, despite the 30-year rule stopping publication of cabinet minutes. Pat Joynes, a member of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, said: "I'm very pleased that the papers are going to be handed over. Twenty-two years ago, when Mrs Thatcher came to Liverpool Cathedral, my husband asked her face to face if there was going to be a cover-up, and she said: 'Mr Joynes, there will be no cover-up.' But there has been a cover-up which has persisted ever since." Another member of the group Ann Williams, who lost her 15-year-old son Kevin in the tragedy, said: "This is good news. I'm very surprised. I thought the government would block it. At least now, we may get to the truth." Ninety-five Liverpool supporters were killed in a crush of fans at the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield, where the club was playing an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest. The 96th victim was left in a coma for three years and died in 1992. An inquiry into the disaster held that the main reason for the overcrowding was the failure of police control. Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-14300878 We will get justice for the 96.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-14300878 http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/live...bjectid=29124655&siteid=100252-name_page.html It will show just how much input the Thatcher goverment had in the cover up,Its been long thought that she used the Hillsborough Disaster as a political weapon against the city of Liverpool by allowing the cover-up,smears and lies to continue because it would intensify the negative image of Liverpool following Heysel and especially her fight with liverpool's then militant Labour council. It will hopefully highlight Duckenfield's attempts to shield his officers from any blame and the measures he took to try and make sure they never took any of the blame at all The families have had to endure all these years of doubt and anguish as to why their loved ones died and the exact time death occured,the goverment health minister at the time stated all the victims died at 3.02pm when doctors acting for the families proved that in some cases this was completely inaccurate. The truth must be found not matter how painful it is and the families hold the same view. JFT96
Hope the families and friends of the 96 get the truth they deserve, even though it is little consolation. Hopefully this will put the matter to rest and they can be honoured without the questions around it.
I actually meant, how much the documents will go as far to prove that. I can't imagine the government will release documents that puts their credibility as a government at stake and especially against the conservative party. It's disgusting that it's taken the government this long to finally bow into the pressure, I feel there must be something to hide if they haven't done it already, but would they sacrifice 20 years of silence for 1 court order? I think they'll do something about it.
Exactly,the main issue with the release of the documents was because of the delicacy of the then governments involvement. There will probably a big political row if anything is held back due to the length of time being up that the freedom of information act can legally be used to protect those involved. Im sure the Labour party will push for a totally uncensored version of events.
The problem is - How will anyone know if anything is held back? The government has a lot of sway behind closed doors, and without sounding like a conspiracy fanatic, I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard for them to tamper with things.
They have a habit of releasing documents with certain words blanked out(names,places,times etc)but as far as the families legal team is concerned they want everything on every page released. If the government refuse there will be ructions in the house of commons and further accusations of a cover-up. But lets wait and see. JFT96
The existance of these documents is a matter of public record. So the government cannot deny their existance. What they can do is to edit content. However, the rationale for any editing would have to be made public and could be contested via judicial review. Unless these documents contain information that would be prejudicial to national security, it would be very difficult for the government to prepare a defence for any editing.
Whilst the release of these documents is massively overdue, the current timing may work in favour of a completely uncensored release of information. The microsope is firmly focused on the conservative party, and politicians in general, following the exposure of the phone hacking scandal. Justice for the 96 innocent people who lost their lives and their families. RIP.
Why would that worry you? God knows people moan about the BBC being publicly funded enough as it is. I'd be more worried if it was some other private organisation. The BBC have a good record of getting official documents via the FoI act.
