THE HIGH COURT in London has quashed the original, accidental inquest verdicts of the 96 victims of the Hillsborough Stadium disaster in 1989.
The Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge ordered fresh inquests following an application by the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve.
Grieve made his application in a crowded London courtroom in front of more than 40 family members who lost loved ones in the disaster, according to BBC News.
The news comes after a new police investigation was also announced today into the football disaster in which 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death.
The announcement follows a damning report from an independent panel that alleged police tried to divert blame for the tragedy on to the victims.
The inquiry is to be led by former Durham Chief Constable Jon Stoddart and will look at the events of an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield’sHillsborough Stadium 23 years ago.
The Hillsborough Independent Panel report published in September said that 41 of the 96 people who died would have had the “potential to survive” if they had received medical treatment more quickly.
It also said that 164 police statements had been changed, 116 of them to remove or alter “unfavourable” accounts about the police’s handling of the crisis.
Relatives of the dead have battled for years to have the verdicts of accidental death overturned.
Part Syndicated from AFP
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