Cameron 'sorry' for Hillsborough disaster as report reveals police statements doctored in cover-up
<cite style="font-size: 12px; width: 147px; display: block; font-style: normal; ">Charles Miranda, Liverpool</cite>
<cite style="font-size: 12px; width: 147px; display: block; font-style: normal; ">September 12, 201210:13PM</cite>
Tragedy unfolds at the Hillsborough football stadium on April 15, 1989. A report has found 116 police statements were doctored in a massive cover-up. Picture: David Cannon/Allsport Source: AP
AN INDEPENDENT review of the Hillsborough football disaster has found evidence of an official cover-up with police statements of the day doctored, key facts omitted from record and an active campaign to blame the fans.
On April 15 1989, 96 Liverpool fans died and another 730 were injured in a crush on the terraces of Sheffield Wednesday's ground during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.
At the time, police and the British government blamed drunken, ticketless and aggressive fans for causing the tragedy.
Fans were accused of stealing victims and pelting police with bottles and rocks.
But an exhaustive inquiry, based on 450,000 confidential and internal documents, has publicly revealed that while there were many systemic failures that day, lives could have been save if police and ambulance workers had acted properly.
"Not only was there delay in recognising that there were mass casualties, the major incident plan was not correctly activated and only limited parts were then put into effect,'' the report said.
"As a result, rescue and recovery efforts were affected by lack of leadership, coordination, prioritisation of casualties and equipment.''
Significantly, the panel found police officers on duty that day were discouraged from making criticisms of senior officers' responses, management and deficiencies.
Key words such as "chaotic'' were deleted from their reports.
"Some 116 of the 164 statements identified for substantive amendment amended or removed comments unfavourable to the South Yorkshire Police,'' the inquiry concluded.
Evidence was found that the South Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service also altered statements from its officers and ``in a number of cases they deflected criticisms and emphasised the efficiency of the SYMAS response''.
While it could not say whether any of the failings could have saved an identified life, it found there were people suffering partial asphyxiation and ``a swifter, more appropriate, better focused and properly equipped response had the potential to save more lives''.
Moments after the families of the victims were privately briefed about the findings in the Anglican Cathedral in Liverpool, in London Prime Minister David Cameron told the Commons the tragedy was the greatest peacetime disaster in a century.
He said a previous inquest had sought to blame fans but clearly this was wrong. He said the report clearly found police failure and goes further identifying the failed responses by ambulance services and other including hospitals.
He said evidence now found police had changed the record of events and the media had wrongly published inaccurate reports based on a news agency reports and a local MP.
Mr Cameron said the extent of police to "develop and publicise a version of events", including doing background checks on victims to propel the myth of hooliganism, had never been seen before and was now disturbing and harrowing for families.
He said the original inquest could now be quashed by the courts.
Critically, Mr Cameron said what happened that day and subsequently for the last 23 years was wrong and under the weight of new evidence it was right for him to now apologise for the suffering of the last 23 years.
On behalf of the nation, he said he was "profoundly sorry".
The independent panel, chaired by Anglican Bishop James Jones, spent two-and-a-half years analysing 450,000 documents, including previously unseen police notebooks from the day, were made public for the first time.
Last night, the people of Liverpool observed two minutes of silence as a mark of respect for the victims and held a vigil for their families.
Bells at the Liverpool Town Hall also rang out 96 times as flags across the city were flown at half-mast.
A fan dragged from the crush lies on the pitch at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium on April 15, 1989. An independent panel has found lives could have been saved if police and ambulance workers had acted properly.
Fans view the Hillsborough memorial at Anfield Stadium, the home of Liverpool Football Club.
