The publication of the independent report on the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 has rightly been welcomed for finally shining some light on what really happened, and could raise the real possibility of justice for the families of the 96 that died, as well as the many more who suffered.

However the delay, the years of deceit, and the police use of the media to create a mist of confusion and lies to hide the truth give a picture of how police forces operate that reach far beyond the tragedy of that day in 1989.

Every page of the report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel shines a little light on the contempt South Yorkshire Police (SYP) held for the ordinary people who   traveled to Sheffield on 15 April 1989.  As the report says:  ‘over 50,000 men, women and children travelled by train, coach and car to Hillsborough Stadium, home of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, to watch an FA Cup Semi-Final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest’. Yet the police had already decided they were all scum and hooligans.

The SYP planning for the event almost completely ignored health and safety issues associated with Hillsborough, in previous years there had been problems with over-crowding. The main access to the west terrace was through a tunnel which bought spectators out to a point behind two pens which made up just a part of the terrace, which would then fill. In the previous year once the central pens were getting full the tunnel was blocked by police and stewards, who directed fans to stand entrances that would take them into other pens, no plan was in place to do the same in 1989.

In fact the police briefings focus entirely on hooliganism and on the idea that Liverpool fans were ‘difficult’ to control. Throughout SYP police seemed determined to characterise football fans as ‘animals’, ‘thugs’ and ‘hooligans’

So as Liverpool fans arrived at the turnstiles at the Leppings Lane entrance they found no plan was in place to ensure they could easily enter the ground. The numbers the turnstiles could cope with was inadequate, so the crowd of thousands was crushed against them, unable to get in.

One of the police officers in charge of the gate took a decision to open an exit gate, letting a flood of people in. Unfamiliar with the layout of the ground the supporters headed for the tunnel as it was the most obvious route to the terrace. Meanwhile inside the ground officers were unaware this was happening, proper communication between the inside and outside of the ground had not been considered, as it had no bearing on SYPs strategy for tackling the ‘behaviour’ of fans.

And as a result of this and the chaos that followed nearly a hundred people died.

As people were crushed the police reaction was to assume the fault was hooliganism, and at first little was done to help the victims.

But as soon as it became apparent that the deaths were the force’s own fault it swung into action, seeking to pass the blame, hide the facts and slur the names of the innocent victims.

Firstly by lying to the FA officials and claiming the fans had forced their way into the ground by breaking the gates open. This lie came from SYP Match Commander, Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield, who was given the job of Match Commander shortly before the fixture,  despite having little knowledge or relevant experience. His inadequacies are another recurring element of the report.

Later that day families came to try and find loved ones who had attended the match. They were taken to the club’s gymnasium, shown polaroids of the dead and then if they recognised a family member bought the corresponding body to identify. The scene was one of horror and distress, yet no sooner had the identification been made than the victim’s family were confronted and questioned by SYP.  The first question they were asked was about the dead person’s drinking habits. In the temporary morgue, in the middle of that horrific, sad scene the police had started the work of saving their own skins by slandering the victims of police incompetence and prejudice.

Ahead of the investigation that followed the SYP officers that had been present at the match were instructed to write their own accounts of what happened. Once these were gathered the forces legal team went through them, removing negative comments about police strategy, as well as comments that reflected the force’s negative attitude to the fans.

Already the police had instructed the 100 or so officers not to record their experiences in their pocket books, these would have had to be turned over to any trial or inquest, similarly official statements were not taken, these would have had to be carried out on official forms, under interview conditions and submitted in full. The officers were told just to write their thoughts and experiences down, and pass those on to the force and its solicitors.

The report explains that deletions from police statements included: ‘criticisms of the police response or inadequate leadership; poor communications or inadequate radio contact; deletion of references to ‘chaos’, ‘fear’, ‘panic’ or ‘confusion’; and abusive criticism of supporters.’

The bias introduced to the statements included removing factual observations that reflected negatively on SYP especially the lack of leadership and poor radio communication but not groundless accusations that fans were all drunk, or had deliberately arrived late and ticketless for the match. these biased accounts were soon reflected in stories SYP leaked to the press.

The report notes: ‘Unnamed sources, supported by the South Yorkshire Police Federation Secretary, Police Constable Paul Middup, and a local Conservative MP, Irvine Patnick, claimed that many Liverpool fans had deliberately arrived late at the stadium.’

‘They were portrayed as predominantly ticketless, drunk, aggressive and determined to force entry. In the throes of the disaster it was alleged that they had assaulted police officers, urinated on officers and the dying, stolen from the dead and verbally sexually abused a lifeless young woman.’

These disgusting lies were quickly picked up by national papers, not least the sun. Its headline ‘The Truth’ and the disgusting lies that follow remain one of the most shameful examples of reporting in UK media ever, the headline was followed by three bullet points: ‘Some fans picked pockets of victims; Some fans urinated on the brave cops; Some fans beat up PC giving life kiss’. Each of these is a lie, and each was fed to the press by the police and the local conservative MP.

The Hillsborough report covers 389 pages, and to anyone who reads them it becomes clear that police actions on the day, and their contempt for football supporters were the cause of the disaster, and that they also made the disaster worse, meaning many who may have been saved died. Of course it is the events that occurred afterwards, the lies and cover up, the attempt to justify police contempt for ordinary people, that will finally gain the most attention and result in court actions.

But there is a danger that we see Hillsborough in isolation. The scale of death and the circumstances may be unique, but the attitude of the police is not. The contempt of police, and in particular SYP, for ordinary people had already been demonstrated in the aggression and intolerance the striking miners had been subjected to, just a few years before. More recently it has been witnessed with attacks on student protesters, members of the UK Uncut movement, and Occupy sites.

The use of the press to spread smear stories about the unfortunate victims of policing is also an on-going tactic. In 2005 Jean-Charles de Menezes was chased into an underground train, held down by police and shot repeatedly in the head. The Metropolitan Police issued press releases connecting him with terrorists, even though it pretty soon became clear that his dark skin, which the police had decided marked him out as ‘North African’ and therefore a suspect worthy of shooting, showed nothing of the sort.

In 2009 Ian Tomlinson was beaten to the ground by a policeman, an attack which resulted in Tomlinsons death. The police gave the media a false cause for Tomlinson’s death, and attempted to slur him, using the fact he was an alcoholic and homeless to cheapen his memory.

Just over a year ago Mark Duggan was gunned down by police as he was a passenger in a taxi in Brixton. The police have used an investigation by the Independent Police Complaint Commission (IPCC) to silence any criticism of the police in the press. When papers reported that Duggan was unarmed both the Met and the IPCC complained that nothing should be published about the case whilst it is the subject of an inquiry. However the enquiry is not sub-judice, so this criticism is unfounded. It also hasn’t stopped the police attempting to paint Duggan as a ‘gangster’ in the press.

The cosiness between the IPCC and the police is a common cause of complaint for people whose loved ones have died at police hands, and it often seems the basis of an IPCC inquiry is simply to ask the police for their version of events.

An IPCC enquiry can also allow the police to stall any legal action. Mark Duggan’s inquest has been delayed until 2013, even though the coroner has complained to the police and the IPCC about the refusal to pass key evidence on. In the meantime the police officers involved in Duggan’s death  have refused to speak to the IPCC enquiry.

And as the impact of the Hillsborough report sunk in this week a South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: ‘South Yorkshire Police is currently reviewing a wide variety of matters raised in the report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel with a view to making a referral to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.’

So even now the use of enquiries and other official red-tape can be used to give the appearance of justice in action, whilst really stalling until the police can find another way out.

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