Hillsborough Disaster Fight For Justice Summed Up By Liverpool Echo Front Page

Today's verdict was huge for the people of Liverpool.
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The long fight for justice for those killed in the Hillsborough disaster was summed up by the Liverpool Echo's front page on Tuesday.

A special late edition of the paper, produced following the unlawful killings verdict was announced by a jury earlier in the day, featured lyrics from the Liverpool football anthem 'You'll Never Walk Alone'.

Over a backdrop of the Royal Liver Building at sunset, it read: "After the end of the storm is a golden sky."

The families and friends of Liverpool supporters killed in the Hillsborough disaster cheered jurors from court after they concluded the 96 football fans had been unlawfully killed.

Declaring that justice had finally been done, there were shouts of “God bless the jury” as the conclusions into Britain’s worst sporting disaster were read out. They found it was unlawful killing by a 7-2 majority.

Lawyers acting for the families said the conclusions, at the end of the longest jury case in British legal history, had completely vindicated their tireless 27-year battle.

Relatives of those who died in the Hillsborough disaster sing You'll Never Walk Alone outside the the inquest
Relatives of those who died in the Hillsborough disaster sing You'll Never Walk Alone outside the the inquest
Joe Giddens/PA Wire

The Hillsborough disaster unfolded during Liverpool’s FA Cup semi-final tie against Nottingham Forest on April 15, 1989 as thousands of fans were crushed at Sheffield Wednesday’s ground.

The fresh inquest followed a dogged campaign for justice by the loved ones of those who died.

The inquest jury of six women and three men delivered their verdicts 27 years after the stadium crush, concluding the longest jury proceedings in English legal history and coming after a protracted battle for justice.

The jury, sitting in Warrington, Cheshire, found police planning errors ‘caused or contributed’ to the dangerous situation that developed on the day of the disaster.

A relative holds up a photo of Keith McGrath, who died in the disaster
A relative holds up a photo of Keith McGrath, who died in the disaster
Owen Humphreys/PA Wire

Jurors gave their conclusions having answered a general questionnaire of 14 questions as well as a record of the time and cause of death for each of the Liverpool fans.

Andy Burnham has demanded police investigating the Hillsborough disaster be prosecuted for being paid public money to “tell lies”.

The shadow home secretary accused South Yorkshire Police of covering up officers’ failures in a bid to prevent the truth of how the fans died from coming to light.

Burnham added that decades of lies by police had caused “incalculable” damage to families who have fought for decades to discover how their loved ones died and who was to blame.

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