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Hillsborough: Anatomy Of A Government Cover-Up

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Lest we forget.
 
The Hillsborough Disaster somehow passed me by at the time - I was desperately seeking work and staying at a friends house back then, and the news passed us by. I didn't even know where Hillsborough was. No internet then either, and soon after I left the UK for about a year.

But my barber is a Liverpool fan, and he has anti-Sun posters up, so I guess he'll be pleased at these late, late developments. I may go for a haircut later today...
 
I'll be in Liverpool later this week and will expect fierce Scouser bearhugs at the mention of Hillsborough.
When working with the public in the midst of Liverpool supporters I have been known to find my back covered in 'Don't buy the Sun!' stickers. All good fun.

Scousers're great. They are friendly and courteous, even when drunk! and I enjoy their ferociously witty banter.
In my job I work among very large groups of people, some feeling understandably stressed, and things can get fraught. I never feel unsafe around Scousers though. If things went wonky, they'd have my back.

I remember Hillsborough very well and have never believed that ordinary working class people would behave as the Sun & co alleged. Certainly not Liverpool people, who are almost comically friendly and kind to strangers.

I'd believe it of posh people. The Sun wouldn't print that though. More's the pity.
 
Was glad to see this (below) . As I've said elsewhere, I don't believe the Freemasons are part of some global conspiracy, but they do operate as a local mutual benefit society for their mainly privileged and influential members. It's easy for mutual benefit to spill over into cover-up.

I regard the cover-up and the extremely nasty allegations involved as much more worthy of retrospective punishment than the actual events of the day. The cover-up has deliberately multiplied the pain for the families and actively victimised officers of both the police and fire services who on the day were the individuals who broke ranks and actually tried to help people.

It also brings into focus the whole quasi-military attitude of modern police forces and the tendency to act with prejudice towards whole swathes of people who cause them inconvenience, while ignoring serious crime that does not disturb their day. Don't forget this was the same force involved in the Orgreave 'battle' and which has apparently been ignoring rings of child rapists.


POLICE FACE QUESTIONS OVER INFLUENCE OF FREEMASONS
338D782F00000578-3558745-image-m-109_1461682277799.jpg

South Yorkshire Police today face questions over whether powerful Freemasons held sway over the force at the time of Hillsborough.

Families of victims say that officers who were Masons were promoted into powerful positions, including match commander David Duckenfield, pictured.

Duckenfield told the fresh inquests he had been a Freemason since 1975 and became head of his local lodge - a worshipful master - the year after the 1989 disaster.

He was forced to admit that he had no experience of policing football, did not know Hillsborough and 'wasn't the best man for the job' - but was still promoted in the weeks before the tragedy.

His predecessor Brian Mole, now dead, had also been a member of the same lodge, jurors were told.

The hearings in Warrington also heard evidence from a police constable who said he had heard 'a substantial meeting' of senior officers, including allegedly Mr Duckenfield, took place in the days after the disaster.

The officer said it was rumoured that most of the officers were Masons and it was said they were trying to blame Superintendent Roger Marshall for asking for the exit gate at Leppings Lane to be opened.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...uests-jury-deliver-verdict.html#ixzz4719x0zk0
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
 
I notice that in the comments sections of the papers (the ones that still allow comments) there is still about a 10% of idiots who blame the fans, or indeed Liverpool. Words fail me.

This is the kind of thing I meant in earlier posts by the lasting damage caused by the conspiracy/cover-up.

I won't re-open Heysel, different circumstances, but again the police forces and safety officials had lost control of the situation well before the actual disaster happened in an unsafe stadium. Nothing useful was learned because in that case some of the fans (of both clubs) _were_ partly responsible - if anyone had looked beyond that at the time Hillsborough might never have happened.
 
Cochise said:
He was forced to admit that he had no experience of policing football, did not know Hillsborough and 'wasn't the best man for the job' - but was still promoted in the weeks before the tragedy.
Click to expand...

Duckinfield took over from Mole after Mole was moved because of some of his officers' antics, notably staging a mock armed mugging of a rookie officer. South Yorkshire Police in the 1980s, what a bunch of charmers.
 
I spoke to my barber, a Liverpool fan, about the verdict today and he was very pleased about it. But there's a sort of irony in that he wasn't even born at the time of the Disaster! It just shows that when fandom runs in families, it goes way back...
 
I was in Rotherham that day, visiting an aquarist shop that specialised in Rift Lake cichlids. I can still recall a very strange feeling of disquiet on the streets....nobody around at all. It was only when I got back to Hull that I heard of the tragedy.

If nothing else, the response to the disaster does show the willingness of the British Establishment to close ranks when challenged. From Bloody Sunday, to Hillsborough and maybe onwards, they consistently prove how they will urinate on the corpses and pick the pockets of the dead.
 
Anyone watch the BBC documentary last night? The figure that struck my mind was 330,000 odd pages of new evidence discovered over 20 years after the disaster. There was also the decent copper interviewed who'd not even seen the 'adjusted' version of his report because he had had a nervous breakdown in the meantime and his signature was just assumed.
 
Cochise said:
Anyone watch the BBC documentary last night? The figure that struck my mind was 330,000 odd pages of new evidence discovered over 20 years after the disaster. There was also the decent copper interviewed who'd not even seen the 'adjusted' version of his report because he had had a nervous breakdown in the meantime and his signature was just assumed.
Click to expand...

That was a modified version of the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary

 
The semi-final was my first away match. My mum didn't want to let me go but I begged and pleated and cajoled non-stop for ages. Eventually she let me go with my eldest brother.

My brother and I were so lucky not to be in the crush. A lot of my memories of that day are one massive blur, but in the chaos I recall very clearly desperately wanting to help. I was a St John's ambulance cadet and was screaming at my brother to let me try and help others, he got me the hell out of the ground asap. I was a naive little girl who thought I could save people.

I still feel so guilty for still being here. I know my brother does too but he doesn't talk about it. I still have flashbacks, so I self-medicate with sleeping pills. Then I beat myself up for feeling sorry for myself. Anyone who got hurt, or worse, those people are no longer with us, so what right do I have to feel that way. I wasn't even injured. The poor families of our fellow supporters who died have it far far worse than I do.

I've never been back to that place, I tried to force myself to go once, a few years ago, but as soon as I get anywhere near it I can't cope. I couldn't go to a game anywhere for years after that without panicking, and Mum wouldn't let me go to any more matches until I left home.

This probably seems disjointed, it's hard to translate my thoughts into something that makes sense at the moment, please forgive the self-indulgence.
 
Sweetheart, you were in the middle of a horrendous experience. It wasn't of your making and there was nothing you could do to stop it. You probably have PTSD. You have every right to feel the way you do. They're your feelings and no one has the right to tell you they're trivial. You carry those memories with you and I wish I could wave a magic wand and make them go away for your sake. No forgiveness is need for what isn't self indulgence. Your experiences, then and now, are valid.
 
Thank you for the comforting words Monstrosa, it was kind of you.
 
Dannyagger, thanks for posting. It helps to share and discuss these things, I think. I was in a similar situation that day and like many people it's haunted me for years. We went down that tunnel into pen 3 just before 2pm; on reaching the terrace my friend suggested we go down the front - I thought about it briefly but said no. So it haunts me that people both ahead of me and behind me were killed. We were lucky, it was just timing that saved us. My friend was used to standing on terracing and insisted we moved just after kick-off, we managed to get to a side pen. For years he tried to tell me we hadn't been in danger, as a friend would, calming me down. Then on the 25th anniversary it hit him (we always end up speaking about the day) and he admitted he'd felt we were in real danger. I've probably never dealt with it properly. I saw part of the BBC programme but couldn't watch, the footage was so harrowing. More so than I had imagined. Any religion I had, I lost that day. Ditto any faith in the establishment looking after me. I still find it disconcerting how quickly the lie was passed to the commentator John Motson who reported on air that fans had forced the gate. So the lie becomes fact. The liars moved very, very fast that day.

I was impressed with Andy Burnham's involvement in recent years and I hope he follows through and that the people who failed that day and tried to cover their tracks are held to account, regardless of whether they're retired or not. No doubt that it's a massive job but without it, what sort of country are we stuck with? A place where handshakes get you a job, regardless of aptitude, and get you off the hook when needed.
 
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So sorry that I didn't see your post earlier, Stingray.

Thanks for opening up about what you went through. I feel lucky and bloody guilty.

I wish I could string a sensible post together at the moment.

Will try and give you the decent and lucid respond you deserve when I'm less emotional.

YNWA my friend.
 
Cochise said:
Was glad to see this (below) . As I've said elsewhere, I don't believe the Freemasons are part of some global conspiracy, but they do operate as a local mutual benefit society for their mainly privileged and influential members. It's easy for mutual benefit to spill over into cover-up.

I regard the cover-up and the extremely nasty allegations involved as much more worthy of retrospective punishment than the actual events of the day. The cover-up has deliberately multiplied the pain for the families and actively victimised officers of both the police and fire services who on the day were the individuals who broke ranks and actually tried to help people.

It also brings into focus the whole quasi-military attitude of modern police forces and the tendency to act with prejudice towards whole swathes of people who cause them inconvenience, while ignoring serious crime that does not disturb their day. Don't forget this was the same force involved in the Orgreave 'battle' and which has apparently been ignoring rings of child rapists.


POLICE FACE QUESTIONS OVER INFLUENCE OF FREEMASONS
338D782F00000578-3558745-image-m-109_1461682277799.jpg

South Yorkshire Police today face questions over whether powerful Freemasons held sway over the force at the time of Hillsborough.

Families of victims say that officers who were Masons were promoted into powerful positions, including match commander David Duckenfield, pictured.

Duckenfield told the fresh inquests he had been a Freemason since 1975 and became head of his local lodge - a worshipful master - the year after the 1989 disaster.

He was forced to admit that he had no experience of policing football, did not know Hillsborough and 'wasn't the best man for the job' - but was still promoted in the weeks before the tragedy.

His predecessor Brian Mole, now dead, had also been a member of the same lodge, jurors were told.

The hearings in Warrington also heard evidence from a police constable who said he had heard 'a substantial meeting' of senior officers, including allegedly Mr Duckenfield, took place in the days after the disaster.

The officer said it was rumoured that most of the officers were Masons and it was said they were trying to blame Superintendent Roger Marshall for asking for the exit gate at Leppings Lane to be opened.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...uests-jury-deliver-verdict.html#ixzz4719x0zk0
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Click to expand...


Latest on Orgreave.

A former police officer who was at the 1984 "Battle of Orgreave" says police had been told to use "as much force as possible" against striking miners.

Police clashed with miners at the Orgreave coke plant in South Yorkshire, on 18 June - and campaigners want a new inquiry into policing on the day.

The ex-Merseyside constable told the BBC senior officers "were anticipating trouble and in some ways relishing it".

South Yorkshire Police said it would "fully participate" in any inquiry.

Orgreave: The battle that's not over

What happened at Orgreave?

Miners had been on strike over fears that pits would be closed and jobs lost.

They picketed other mines and plants to try to get other workers to support the strike, something the government said was a threat to the rule of law and to the right of others to go to work.

Trouble erupted at Orgreave when picketing miners tried to stop lorries leaving the plant. The stand-off between miners and police erupted into a running battle with injuries on both sides.

There have been questions over who sparked the violence and whether the police used excessive force, during what was the most violent confrontation of the 1984-85 miners' strike. ...

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-37609965...ng&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=news_central
 
South Yorkshire police again. Have they ever got ANYTHING right?
 
I remember the Miners' Strike because in 1984, I was there.
I was a student in my final year at Sheffield Poly and I lived on the top floor of the awful Park Hill flats.
One day, I heard a huge commotion on the street outside, and looked down to see a gigantic crowd of people and police.
I was really busy, so I had no time to watch.
A few days (or a week) later, a plain-clothes policeman dropped in to ask about what we'd seen. He was conducting an investigation of some kind. I'd seen very little, but my flatmate said the police had 'gone in mob-handed'.
So, the police on the scene had perhaps handled the situation badly, but to give them their due - they did investigate what happened.
 
Mythopoeika said:
I remember the Miners' Strike because in 1984, I was there.
I was a student in my final year at Sheffield Poly and I lived on the top floor of the awful Park Hill flats.
One day, I heard a huge commotion on the street outside, and looked down to see a gigantic crowd of people and police.
I was really busy, so I had no time to watch.
A few days (or a week) later, a plain-clothes policeman dropped in to ask about what we'd seen. He was conducting an investigation of some kind. I'd seen very little, but my flatmate said the police had 'gone in mob-handed'.
So, the police on the scene had perhaps handled the situation badly, but to give them their due - they did investigate what happened.
Click to expand...

Did your flatmate disappear?
 
And still more emerges . Another documentary last night, on the BBC. It really is outrageous that this conspiracy - because that is clearly what it is as more and more evidence is emerging, and moreover the conspiracy was in place mere hours after the disaster, while people were still fighting for life - has never been properly investigated.

I wonder how many more people could have been saved if the police in charge hadn't been busy worrying about their sorry asses? The last documentary established that a considerable number of people could have been saved if help had been organised and allowed access earlier. The single ambulance that was allowed on the pitch (no blame to the crew) seems almost a deliberate provocation. At the very least it adds to the sadness of watching these documentaries - one ambulance, when dozens were dying.
 
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Cochise said:
And still more emerges . Another documentary last night, on the BBC. It really is outrageous that this conspiracy - because that is clearly what it is as more and more evidence is emerging, and moreover the conspiracy was in place mere hours after the disaster, while people were still fighting for life - has never been properly investigated.

I wonder how many more people could have been saved if the police in charge hadn't been busy worrying about their sorry asses? The last documentary established that a considerable number of people could have been saved if help had been organised and allowed access earlier. The single ambulance that was allowed on the pitch (no blame to the crew) seems almost a deliberate provocation. At the very least it adds to the sadness of watching these documentaries - one ambulance, when dozens were dying.
Click to expand...

To be fair, three ambulances came on the pitch. One ambulance driver criticised other drivers for staying in their vehicles outside the ground when they could have come in on foot.

Many of the issues during the game were about bad organisation and communication. That can be forgiven if you learn from it.

But by the time the corruption started it was too late to save any of the lives. And the corruption was the police, not the hospitals.
 
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