Campaigners hailed a "watershed" in the fight for truth and justice over the Hillsborough disaster today after the High Court threw out all of the original inquest verdicts from 1989. In a short hearing the verdict of accidental death for 96 Liverpool football fans who died in the crush at the Sheffield stadium were overturned and new inquests ordered. Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge and two other judges made the order after an application by the Attorney General Dominic Grieve who appeared in person - and families in the packed courtroom loudly applauded.
Lord Judge said there were "good grounds" for the application and described what happened on April 15 1989 as "catastrophic." He said there had been a "profound, almost palpable belief that justice has not been done and that it cannot be done until the full truth is revealed." He added: "We must record our admiration and respect for their determined search for the truth about the circumstances of the disaster and why and how it had occurred which, despite disappointments and setbacks, has continued for nearly a quarter of a century."
Lord Judge expressed regret that the process the families had gone through had been "so unbearingly dispiriting and prolonged." More than 40 relatives of the dead victims made the journey to London for the hearing, arriving at the Royal Courts of Justice by coach, while others watched by videolink from Liverpool. The application by Mr Grieve came in the wake of a damning Hillsborough Independent Panel report in September as well as new medical evidence revealing that 58 victims "definitely or probably" could have survived.
At the same time Home Secretary Theresa May announced a new police investigation into the disaster which will be led by former Durham chief constable Jon Stoddart. It will work closely with an Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation launched in October into apparent police attempts to shift the blame for the tragedy onto those who died. Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said: "This is a watershed moment on the road to justice for the families of the 96 and I share their overwhelming relief.
"We must all keep up the pressure that has driven the momentum over the last few months to make sure that the families get the justice they deserve." Michelle Carlile, 44, clutching a photograph of her brother Paul, 19, who died at Hillsborough, said: "It is bitter-sweet. We have known the truth for 23 years." Saunders Law managing director James Saunders, the solicitor representing the Hillsborough Family Support Group, said: "After truth there must be justice." And Hillsborough Family Support Group chairman Trevor Hicks said: "Justice is on its way. Everything we've said has been proven to be correct. It's a huge step for the families of the loved ones, so it's a happier Christmas."
Source: The Morning Star 20-12-2012
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