They killed people and then blamed their mates. It doesn't get any worse.
Thirty-six years after 97 Liverpool supporters were unlawfully killed at Hillsborough stadium, an official report has confirmed what bereaved families always maintained: that senior police officers not only failed in their duty of care but actively constructed a false narrative to shield themselves from blame. The Independent Office for Police Conduct has now named 12 former officers who would face gross misconduct proceedings were they still serving, yet no criminal convictions have followed. In the long arc of this tragedy, the families stand at a familiar threshold — vindicated in truth, still waiting for justice — and they are channelling that grief into law, demanding that no other family be made to fight as long, or as hard, for something as fundamental as the truth.
- A damning IOPC report has confirmed that senior officers from South Yorkshire and West Midlands Police lied, covered up evidence, and blamed Liverpool supporters for a disaster their own failures created.
- Twelve former senior officers would face gross misconduct charges if still serving, and figures including Norman Bettison now face calls to be stripped of their honours — yet decades on, no one has been held criminally accountable.
- For families like Charlotte Hennessy, who was six when her father died, and Steve Kelly, who lost his brother Michael, the report lands not as closure but as another wave in 36 years of relentless, exhausting campaigning.
- The families are pushing the Public Advocate (Accountability) Bill through Parliament — a proposed Hillsborough Law that would legally compel public officials to tell the truth and give bereaved families equal legal funding at inquests.
- Margaret Aspinall and others are clear: the fight is no longer only about Hillsborough — it is about ensuring the machinery of the state cannot again be turned against the people it is meant to serve.
On a December afternoon in Liverpool, four members of the Hillsborough families stood before journalists and delivered a verdict 36 years in the making. The Independent Office for Police Conduct had just released its report into the 1989 disaster, and the conclusion was unsparing: South Yorkshire Police had fundamentally failed in its planning for the FA Cup semi-final, mismanaged the crowd, and then — as 97 people lay dead — invented stories of drunkenness and violence to protect themselves. "They killed people and then blamed their mates," said Charlotte Hennessy, who was six years old when her father James died in the crush at Sheffield's Hillsborough stadium.
The report named 12 former senior officers across South Yorkshire and West Midlands Police who would face gross misconduct charges if still serving. Among them was match commander David Duckinfield, who deflected blame onto supporters for 25 years before finally offering an apology at the fresh inquests — one the families refused to accept. Also named was Norman Bettison, now facing calls to be stripped of his knighthood and Queen's Police Medal. West Midlands Police, which investigated the disaster, was condemned separately for a "wholly unsatisfactory" inquiry tainted by allegations of bias.
For those who lived through the decades of campaigning, the report brought recognition but not relief. "The toll that it takes on you comes in waves," said Steve Kelly, whose brother Michael died at Hillsborough. Sue Roberts, who lost her brother Graham, was bleaker still: "I don't believe we will ever get to the full truth. But what we know now is bad enough."
Margaret Aspinall, who lost her 18-year-old son James and has long been a central figure in the campaign, directed the families' anger toward something lasting. They are pushing hard for a Hillsborough Law — formally the Public Advocate (Accountability) Bill, currently in Committee stage in the House of Commons — which would impose a legally binding duty of candour on public officials and provide equal legal funding for families at inquests and inquiries. "Not one person's being held to account," Aspinall said. "To me, that's a disgrace."
The IOPC report cannot restore 97 lives or return 36 years. But the families intend it to stand as undeniable evidence that the system failed, that those in power lied, and that the Hillsborough Law must ensure it cannot happen again.
On a December afternoon in Liverpool, four members of the Hillsborough families stood before gathered journalists and delivered a verdict that had taken 36 years to reach: the police officers responsible for the deaths of 97 fans had lied, covered up, and blamed the victims. The Independent Office for Police Conduct had just released its report into the 1989 disaster and the conduct of senior officers from South Yorkshire Police and West Midlands Police in its aftermath. The families' message was unsparing. "They killed people and then blamed their mates," Charlotte Hennessy said, her voice steady. "It doesn't get any worse."
Hennessy was six years old when her father James died in the crush at Sheffield's Hillsborough stadium during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. She had spent most of her life fighting for accountability. The IOPC report confirmed what the families had always known: South Yorkshire Police had fundamentally failed in its planning for the match. Officers had mismanaged the crowd, created the conditions for the disaster, and then—when the tragedy unfolded—they did something worse. They blamed Liverpool supporters. They invented stories of drunkenness and violence. They protected themselves while 97 people lay dead.
The report identified 12 former senior officers across both forces who would face gross misconduct charges if they were still serving. Among them was David Duckinfield, the South Yorkshire Police commander who stood watching fans fight for their lives and whose first instinct was to deflect blame onto the crowd. For 25 years, Duckinfield remained silent while families fought for justice. He did not speak until the fresh inquests, decades after the disaster. When he finally did, he apologized. The families rejected it. "We do not accept his apology," Hennessy said flatly. Also named was Norman Bettison, a former Merseyside Chief Constable, now facing calls to be stripped of his knighthood and Queen's Police medal. West Midlands Police, which conducted the investigation into the disaster, drew its own condemnation for a "wholly unsatisfactory" inquiry marred by allegations of bias from two senior officers.
Steve Kelly, whose brother Michael died at Hillsborough, spoke about the weight of 36 years of campaigning. "The toll that it takes on you comes in waves," he said. "Hillsborough is in the news one minute, then it's not. So you're constantly going through that for 36 years—it just leaves you empty at times." Sue Roberts, who lost her brother Graham, was more blunt: "I don't believe we will ever get to the full truth of Hillsborough. But what we know now is bad enough."
Margaret Aspinall, the longtime face of the Hillsborough campaign who lost her 18-year-old son James, channeled the families' anger into a call for change. Not just for Hillsborough, but for the nation. The families are pushing hard for a new Hillsborough Law—formally called the Public Advocate (Accountability) Bill—which is currently moving through the Committee stage in the House of Commons. The bill would impose a legally binding duty of candour on public officials, forcing them to tell the truth. It would also level the playing field by providing equal legal funding for families and loved ones appearing at inquests and inquiries. "It really makes you very, very angry when you think of all of those 97 who died, unlawfully killed, and yet not one person's being held to account," Aspinall said. "To me, that's a disgrace."
The families are clear about what they want the law to accomplish: prevent other families from enduring what they have endured. The IOPC report, comprehensive as it is, cannot undo the past. It cannot bring back 97 people. It cannot restore 36 years of life. But it can serve as evidence—stark, official, undeniable—that the system failed catastrophically, that those in power lied, and that accountability, real accountability, has never been delivered. The families are determined that the Hillsborough Law will ensure it happens differently next time.
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It really makes you very, very angry when you think of all of those 97 who died, unlawfully killed, and yet not one person's being held to account. To me, that's a disgrace.— Margaret Aspinall, mother of James Aspinall, age 18, who died at Hillsborough
The toll that it takes on you comes in waves. Hillsborough is in the news one minute, then it's not. So you're constantly going through that for 36 years—it just leaves you empty at times.— Steve Kelly, whose brother Michael was killed at Hillsborough
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does the IOPC report matter now, 36 years later, when the officers involved are mostly retired or gone?
Because it's official confirmation. For decades, the families were fighting against a narrative the police had constructed. This report says, in the language of an independent authority, that the police lied and that their actions amounted to gross misconduct. It's not just families saying it anymore—it's the system itself.
But if no one is being prosecuted, what changes?
The law. The families are using this moment to push the Hillsborough Law through Parliament. They're saying: we can't undo what happened, but we can make sure the next time someone dies in state custody or a public disaster, officials are legally bound to tell the truth and families have the resources to fight.
Do the families believe they'll ever know the full truth?
Sue Roberts said it plainly: probably not. But they're not waiting for perfect truth anymore. They're working with what they have—the IOPC report, the inquests, the evidence—and they're channeling that into preventing it from happening again.
What's the emotional toll been?
Steve Kelly described it as waves. Hillsborough surfaces in the news, then disappears. For 36 years, families have been cycling through that trauma over and over. Days like today—when the report comes out—are stressful. But they keep going because they believe the law matters.
Why focus on a new law instead of pursuing criminal charges against the officers?
Because the officers are mostly retired or beyond the reach of prosecution. The law is what's achievable now. And it's bigger than Hillsborough—it's about changing how the system treats families in future disasters. Margaret Aspinall said it: they're not just fighting for their 97. They're fighting for the nation.