1. ★★ ★★
NEWS Friday,September14,2012Friday,September14,20122 NEWS 3
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+ + HILLSBOROUGH: THE CAMPAIGN FOR JUSTICE ++ ++HILLSBOROUGH:THECAMPAIGNFORJUSTICE++
WasmyJames
amongthe41?
“Thefamiliesmustcomefirst,asthecaseforjustice
gathersmomentum”-Seepage10
The Voice of Liverpool
since 1879ECHO
Comingto
termswith
thereality
theirloved
onescould
havelived
by JOHN SIDDLE
HILLSBOROUGH families
will have the choice of
whether to be told if their
loved-ones are among the 41
victims who potentially
could have lived.
Those who wish to know
will be able to meet with
Hillsborough panellist, Dr
Bill Kirkup, who revealed
the devastating news at
Liverpool Cathedral on
Wednesday.
Margaret Aspinall,
chairwoman of the
Hillsborough Family
Support Group, said: “We
don’t know who the 41 are,
but I have put in a request
to see Dr Bill Kirkup from
the panel and I know Jenni
and Trevor Hicks have, as
well.
“The families have been
given the option – some
might not want to know.”
Margaret lost her
18-year-old son, James, at
Hillsborough, and said: “I
think ‘Oh God, was James
one of the 41?' And every
parent will be going through
the same thing. I woke up
sobbing this morning.”
The news that victims
could potentially have been
revived was the most
shocking disclosure made
by the panel.
Documents now in the
public domain portray years
of wrangling between
experts over the times and
causes of death.
A signed statement made
by James Burns, a forensic
pathologist at the Royal
Liverpool hospital, appears
to dismiss the
now-discredited
assumptions underpinning
Dr Popper’s original
inquests.
In the document, written
in support of six families
fighting for fresh inquests.
he described the claim that
all victims had died by
3.15pm from traumatic
asphyxia as “nonsense”.
He wrote: “It is quite
possible that someone
could survive two
minutes of intense
crushing if they get
the right medical help
quickly.
“There is no
way one
could
assert categorically that the
deceased died 3 or 4 minutes
after the compression
began, unless the pressure
they sustained had been
unrelieved.
“With respect to deaths
from traumatic asphyxia, it
is impossible to tell from
looking at a dead body how
long it took that person to
die.
“If trained personnel and
equipment had been
available at the scene of the
disaster then it is quite
possible that more could
have survived.“
Dr Burns added: “In order
to die from traumatic
asphyxia, there must be
unrelieved pressure for
around 3 minutes.
“The point about the
Hillsborough victims was
that some of them may have
experienced intermittent
pressure for up to half an
hour.”
FAMILIES of those who died at
Hillsborough were today absorbing
harrowing revelations that their
loved ones could have been saved.
As many as 41 of the 96 Liverpool
fans crushed in the Leppings Lane
end could have survived had there
been a swifter response to the
unfolding disaster.
The independent panel probe
ripped apart the controversial,
establishment view that Reds fans
were dead within minutes, after
suffering “traumatic asphyxia”,
and that all had perished by the
3.15pm cut-off time imposed by
Sheffield coroner Dr Stefan Popper
at their initial inquests.
Among the 400,000 documents
disclosed by the panel on
Wednesday the ECHO found a
six-page report compiled by a
leading pathologist who claimed at
least three victims he knew of still
had a fighting chance at life.
They are Liverpool supporters
Philip Hammond, 14, Michael Kelly,
38 and Kevin Williams, 15.
Dr Iain West, a consultant
forensic pathologist at London’s
Guy’s hospital, gave his expert
medical opinion into eight
post-mortem reports at a judicial
review of the inquests in 1992.
Of the three fans, Dr West wrote:
“I feel it is impossible to state purely
from the medical point of view that a
number of the young men [...] could
not have been alive at 3.15pm.
“Those dying as the result of
anoxic damage (oxygen
deprivation) consequent to their
chests being crushed could well
have survived for a much longer
period only to die subsequently
from the effects of irreversible
anoxia”.
Michael Kelly, 38, born and bred
in Old Swan, was the last of the
victims to be identified on the day,
his body kept in a church hall.
His brother Steve, a key player in
the Hillsborough Justice Campaign,
had always believed that Michael
was among the first to perish that
fateful April day.
The cause of death listed in his
death certificate reads “traumatic
asphyxia”.
But Dr West concluded that the
38-year-old warehouse worker
probably suffered a blockage of his
airways and may have survived had
he been placed in the recovery
position.
The pathologist wrote: “There is
nothing to indicate that this man
was definitely dead by 3.15pm –
indeed the evidence available to me
suggests otherwise.”
For Mr Kelly, the revelation
yesterday was a bombshell.
He told the ECHO: “I was under
the impression for many years that
Mike was among the first to be
pulled out and identified as dead.
“That, now, is totally distorted.
Not only is he one of the 96, he is
now one of the 41.
“The truth has come out and it
hurts. It’s no longer speculation, it is
cold, hard fact and it is hard to
take.
“Traumatic asphyxia doesn’t
come into it. He deserves a new
inquest, I hope he will get one.”
The Hillsborough Panel
described as “unsustainable”
notions that all victims succumbed
to a “a single, unvarying and rapid
pattern of death” and said some
victims could have been saved.
The panel found that 28 of those
who died did not die from traumatic
asphyxia with obstruction of the
blood circulation and asphyxia
“may have taken significantly
longer to be fatal”.
“There was separate evidence
that in 31 (victims) the heart and
lungs had continued to function
after the crush, and in 16 (victims) of
these it was for a prolonged
period.”
Families have the opportunity in
the coming days to find out
personally whether their loved-ones
are among the 41.
Dr West also suggests that Philip
Hammond, who was taken by
ambulance to a hospital after the
crush, was alive after 3.15pm and
also did not die from traumatic
asphyxia.
He writes: “Unconsciousness is
likely to be fairly rapid but death
could have taken a substantial
number of minutes and it would be
impossible, from a medical point of
view, to state that this boy was dead
at 3.15pm.”
Philip’s brother Graeme, 33, said:
“It highlights the ludicrousness of
the 3.15pm cut off point. People were
still alive and could have been saved.
The truth has come out in black and
white. What makes us all so angry is
the extent to which it has been
covered up.”
Philip’s mum, Hilda, said the
document corroborated the claims
of Dr Ed Walker, who rushed to the
Sheffield's Northern General
Hospital to deal with casualties.
The first person he treated was
Philip Hammond who, he says, was
still alive by 3.40pm.
Mrs Hammond said: “We always
thought he was alive after 3.15pm
but our hands were tied, because
that was the official cut-off point.
“We couldn’t do anything about
it. The inquests of everybody who
died that day need to be looked at
again.”
Anne Williams discovered eight
years after the 1989 tragedy that her
son Kevin was alive much later than
3.15pm.
She has fought relentlessly for a
fresh inquest, which now appears
tantalisingly close.
Dr West reported that Kevin
“could well have survived for a
considerable period, well beyond
3.15pm”.
That backs up the evidence of
special police constable Debra
Martin, who cradled the injured
teenager in her arms.
The officer, who later claimed to
be “bullied” by her superiors to
prevent her crucial evidence from
being made public, told how the teen
cried out for his mum as he was
being held.
Ms Williams, who runs the
campaign group Hope for
Hillsborough, said she
understood the apprehension
that families of the remaining
40 – possibly saveable –
victims currently felt.
She said: “I remember
when I was told Kevin could
have been saved. I was angry
because I had been lied to, but
glad to know the truth.
“To think ‘oh God, he could
have been saved’, was a
horrible thing to go through.
“At least I know how he died
because not knowing was the
worst. I feel for the other 40
families, I really do. My heart
goes out to them, it will be a
shock.”
Documents show Dr
Popper said he picked the
3.15pm time because of
“overwhelming pathological
evidence” that irreversible
damage had already struck.
The
inquests
mustall
be
looked
atagain
GRIEF: Michael
Kelly, 38
TRAGIC: Philip
Hammond, 14
JUSTICE: Kevin
Williams, 15
PROVED RIGHT: Phil Hammond always believed son Philip was alive after the 3.15pm
cut-off point
ANGER: Anne Williams ,who lost her
son Kevin, aged just 15,at Hillsborough
FACTS: Steve Kelly, a member of the HJC,
who lost brother Michael
ANXIOUS:
Dr Bill
Kirkup will
tell families if
their loved
ones could
have lived
ANGUISH: Margaret
Aspinall

2. ★★ ★★
NEWS Thursday,September13,2012Thursday,September13,20124 NEWS 5
++HILLSBOROUGH:THECAMPAIGNFORJUSTICE++ ++HILLSBOROUGH:THECAMPAIGNFORJUSTICE++
Log on to www.liverpool
echo.co.uk for the latest
news, sport and more
online
VIEWS FROM
OUR WEBSITE
● Sam Bristow: It makes
me feel sick just thinking
about how all these lies
must have gathered pace
like a snowball effect.
To think there are
people who could act this
out is disturbing. I truly
hope as many as possible
are held accountable.
● OtleyLad: Just to say
about time a government
of this country has decided
to come clean over this
shameful disaster.
But why has it took 23
years for the corrupt
politicians and police to be
found out?
● Peter Hooton: I couldn't
talk about Hillsborough for
ten years but today feels
like a lead weight has been
lifted - this is a momentous
day for many of the
survivors.
● mstrdrmz: MacKenzie
has only piped up now he
can shift blame on to
others. At the end of the
day he was the editor and
chose not to practice
caution/sensitivity. Still a
rat.
● Hooterto: Why has
MacKenzie waited until
now to say sorry? He has
had twenty odd years to
say this!
● John Byrne:
Dublin remembers our
Scouse cousins today. God
bless. JFT96.
● Jacqui Wooley: Heart
goes out to the families of
the 96. The road to justice
has been a long and hard
one to get the truth.
■ IF you would like to have
your say on the outcome of
the Hillsborough panel
report, we will be filming
people's reactions at our
offices in Old Hall Street
between 12noon and 1pm
today.
Anyone who would like
to be a part of our video
response to the report
should email
liverpooldigitaldesk
@gmail.com, call Jo Kelly
on 0151 472 2498 or tweet
us @LivEchonews with
their name.
The final video will be a
montage of people's
responses to the report
and will be uploaded to the
Liverpool Echo website.
People who register by
email, phone or Twitter
will be given priority but
those who do not register
are also welcome to come
down and have their say in
front of a camera.
The filming session will
take place at the Liverpool
ECHO offices between
12noon and 1pm today and
people should report to
reception on arrival.
Theworst
cover-up
Individualscouldbe
prosecutedover
Hillsboroughdeaths
inBritish
legal
history
HILLSBOROUGH families today
vowed to continue their journey to
justice following “the worst cover-up
in British legal history”.
Top lawyer Michael Mansfield,
QC, warned of the prospect of
prosecutions over the deaths of the
96.
The veteran barrister, acting on
behalf of Hillsborough families, told
the ECHO at least six individuals
could be prosecuted for gross
negligence manslaughter.
And those who amended witness
statements to shift blame for the
disaster could be charged with
perverting the course of justice.
The panel’s stark findings not only
revealed the numerous failings of the
police and ambulance services.
But it also exposed Sheffield
Wednesday and Sheffield City
Council’s failure to heed crowd
safety warnings in the years before
the disaster and how Hillsborough
stadium itself failed to meet basic
safety standards.
When asked if the biggest cover-up
in British legal history had been laid
bare Mr Mansfield replied: “The
short answer to that is, yes.”
Speaking of the likelihood of
criminal charges being pursued he
said: “If David Cameron means what
he says and justice has to follow
truth then they have a responsibility
today to assess not just the question
of unlawful killing but the cover-up
and the perversion of the course of
justice.”
Mr Mansfield added: “There was
no safety certificate then. They
breached the safety rules. That is the
beginning of serious negligence and
there is a causation relationship
here which the director of public
prosecutions will have to look at.
“There’s more than the police
here. It’s not just the police.
“Sheffield Wednesday need to
answer some questions and the
Sheffield authorities too on that
score.”
Mr Mansfield said culpability lay
at the doors of almost every public
body adding: “It is not just one
person who is responsible for what
happened. There is bound to be a
number of people [who could be
prosecuted]. We will look at all
avenues.”
A decision on whether to bring
prosecutions could take up to nine
months.
But first and foremost comes the
fight to have the initial inquests into
the 96 deaths quashed with
controversial “accidental death”
verdict recorded against each name
replaced with the words “unlawful
killing”.
The panel said there was a total of
41 victims either alive after 3.15pm –
the coroner’s controversial cut-off
time – or who suffered injuries
inconsistent with the findings of the
pathologists.
The attorney general Dominic
Grieve – the government’s top lawyer
– conceded that “significant issues”
had now been raised over the
discredited inquests.
He could apply to the High Court
within four to six weeks to have the
verdicts quashed.
Mr Grieve said: “I have not yet had
an opportunity to study the panel’s
report. But it is clear that they have
documented significant issues over
the original inquest.
“I will now consider whether
there is sufficient evidence to
support an application to the High
Court to quash the original inquest
and start a new inquest process.”
Mr Grieve acknowledged “the
wait for truth and justice has been
long and unspeakably painful for a
great many people”.
Within the confines of the Lady
Chapel at Liverpool Cathedral
yesterday members of the
Hillsborough Families Support
Group and Hillsborough Justice
Campaign said their first fight was to
win fresh inquests before pressing
for criminal action against those
involved.
Spokeswoman for the
Hillsborough Justice Campaign
Sheila Coleman said: “First and
foremost the attorney general should
quash the inquest verdict (of
accidental death) in all 96 cases and
organise fresh inquests.”
There had also, she said, been a
“clear conspiracy to cover up and I
think it’s important those criminals
are brought to book”.
Solicitor James Saunders, who
represents the Hillsborough Family
Support Group, said: “It is for the
attorney general to make an
application to the High Court to
quash the current inquest verdict
which was based on evidence that
had been tampered with and an
untrue picture of events.”
by JOHN SIDDLE
POLICEAPOLOGISEFOR‘UNTOLDPAIN’THEY
CAUSEDTHROUGHLIESANDLOSSOFCONTROL
SORRY: South Yorkshire chief
constable David Crompton
by BEN TURNER
OPTIONS: Lawyers Michael Mansfield, left,
and Lord Falconer at Liverpool Cathedral
yesterday. Mr Mansfield said the findings of
the panel revealed perversion of the course
of justice Picture: COLIN LANE
‘Justicehastofollowtruth’–Michael
MansfieldQC,families’lawyer
SOUTH Yorkshire police today
apologised for the “untold pain and
distress” their lies caused
Hillsborough victims’ families.
Chief constable David Crompton,
who was appointed in January, said
he was “profoundly sorry” for the
hurt caused, acknowledged the force
had “failed the victims and families”
and said “the police lost control”.
His apology came as the panel’s
report revealed police “doctored”
116 official statements and the then-
South Yorkshire chief constable
Peter Wright and his officers, with
the help of Tory MP Sir Irvine
Patnick, sought to cover up the
failings, briefing media that drunken,
ticketless fans and violence were to
blame.
It led to The Sun’s infamous “The
Truth” front page.
Mr Crompton said: “In the
immediate aftermath senior officers
sought to change the record of
events.
“Disgraceful lies were told which
blamed the Liverpool fans for the
disaster.”
The panel also revealed that
South Yorkshire ambulance service
also doctored statements to put the
service “in the best light”.
Yorkshire ambulance service,
which is now responsible for
covering South Yorkshire, also
apologised.
Extending his sympathies to the
families, chief executive David
Whiting said the trust had fully
co-operated, adding: “I sincerely
apologise for the shortcomings
identified in the report relating to
the way in which the incident was
managed in the early stages.”
Sheffield Council apologised for its
part in licensing and carrying out
“inadequate and poorly recorded
inspections” of Hillsborough.
Chief executive John Mothersole
said: “Our role has already been
subject to public inquiry, including
the Taylor inquiry, which found that
our actions at the time were
wanting and criticised. For that we
sincerely apologise.”
Sheffield news agency White’s,
which behind false press reports into
fans’ conduct, said it circulated the
allegations after reporters spoke to
Sheffield Hallam MP Sir Irvine and
another now deceased employee
spoke with senior officers.
It said: “The agency had no
control over how the allegations
were presented and were shocked by
the way the story was presented by
The Sun.
“We welcome the publication of
all documents relating to the
Hillsborough tragedy and hope it
brings some measure of closure for
those affected.”
The report found Sheffield
Wednesday’s ground “failed to meet
minimum standards”. The club
apologised and said it was “totally
transparent” in helping the report
be compiled.
The Football Association said it
would “like to commend the
Hillsborough Independent Panel for
their exhaustive and professional
work” and said it recognised “the
tireless commitment shown by so
many, particularly the Hillsborough
Family Support Group.”
South Yorkshire Police Federation
wants to digests the report before
commenting.
–Michael
MansfieldQC
“Somepeoplewillsinktoanydepthstosavetheir
ownmiserableskins–andjobs.”-Seepage10
The Voice of
Liverpool since 1879ECHO
READ MORE
Read the Hillsbor-
ough Independent
Panel summary,
full report and
the Taylor Report
at www.liverpool
echo.co.uk
/hillsborough
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