Video: Forest fan and Hillsborough witness John West says apologies are now owed
An inquest jury has ruled the 96 victims of the Hillsborough disaster were unlawfully killed.
The decision could mean criminal charges are brought against people who held senior police positions on the day of the tragedy.
The 1989 disaster happened at the Sheffield stadium during an FA Cup tie between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.
Those who died were mainly Liverpool supporters but dozens of Forest fans have since given evidence to investigators and supported calls for the fresh hearing, which has taken two years to reach a conclusion.
The inquests in Warrington replaced a previous hearing in 1991 which returned verdicts of accidental deaths – these were quashed in 2012 and a new set of inquests were ordered by the High Court.
What we’ve known for 27 years .. Hillsborough Victims Unlawfully Killed #JFT96 #nffc #LFC https://t.co/L7eJQQYIVk pic.twitter.com/nEnqOp1uDg
— Richard Clark (@richardcclark) April 26, 2016
Forest fans have welcomed the verdict and offered support to the victim’s families, many of whom campaigned for more than two decades for new investigations into the disaster.
Michael Dugher, MP for Barnsley East, tweeted: “My Dad was at Hillsborough, but luckily in the Forest end. Big day for so many Liverpool families and campaigners today.”
The jury returned conclusions on 14 key points, and cleared fans of contributing to a dangerous crush at turnstiles outside the stadium.
They needed a majority of 7 to 2 on the unlawful killing conclusion. All the other conlclusions were unanimous.
Picture: 96 fans died in a crush just after the match kicked off
According to the hearing’s other conclusions, police errors contributed to the disaster, there were defects at the stadium and the emergency response was delayed.
In particular the jury decided the match commander Ch Supt David Duckenfield’s actions amounted to “gross negligence” due to a breach of his duty of care to fans.
The Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed it will now examine if criminal charges should be brought.
