Liverpool falls silent to mark 35 years since Hillsborough disaster

Liverpool to remain silent 35 years after Hillsborough disaster

Ninety-seven men, women and children died in the FA Cup semi-final tragedy between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on 15 April 1989.

On Monday at 3.06pm – the time the match was abandoned – a minute’s silence will be observed at Exchange Flags, behind Liverpool Town Hall, and by the football club’s players and staff.

The public is invited to gather at Exchange Flags for silence, led by Liverpool Mayor Mary Rasmussen.

A Liverpool City Council spokeswoman said flags would be flown at half-mast on municipal buildings and the town hall would be lit up in red in the evening in tribute.

A specially designed bench to honour survivors of the disaster was unveiled at Anfield on Friday.

Inquests into the deaths, held after the original verdicts were overturned following the Hillsborough independent panel’s report, concluded in 2016 and concluded that the victims had been unlawfully killed and that errors by the police and ambulance service had caused or contributed to the deaths.

Match of the Day captain David Duckenfield was charged with gross negligence manslaughter in 2017 but was cleared in 2019 in a retrial after the jury in his first trial was unable to reach a verdict.

In 2021, retired officers Donald Denton and Alan Foster and former police solicitor Peter Metcalf, who were accused of altering statements to minimise the responsibility of South Yorkshire Police, were acquitted of perverting the course of justice after a judge ruled there was no case to answer.

Families campaigned for a Hillsborough law to help victims of major disasters get justice.

A campaign spokesperson said: “The pain and suffering of the last 35 years has not diminished.

“Today we pay tribute to all 97 supporters, they will never be forgotten, and we continue to fight in their memory and for all those who suffered such injustice at the hands of the state.

“The truth about what really happened on that terrible day has not been revealed for decades because public authorities and officials have hidden the truth for their own interests.

“Yet 35 years later, the experiences of the Hillsborough families have been repeated time and again, including the Post Office scandal. Little has changed.

“A Hillsborough Act, with a duty of candour at its heart, would ensure that the battles faced by the Hillsborough and Post Office families, and many others, can never be repeated.

“This would create a legal obligation on public authorities and officials to tell the truth and proactively cooperate with official investigations and requests.

“Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to make this law a reality if Labour comes to power. We hope other parties will follow his lead and end this criminal abuse of power.”