Hillsborough Inquest - David Conn Twitter feed.

[Paul S]

Updates from the Liverpool Echo website:

BREAKING - charges

Breaking news.

Charges have been authorised against:

· David Duckenfield, who was the Match Commander for South Yorkshire Police on the day of the disaster

· Graham Henry Mackrell, who was Sheffield Wednesday Football Club’s company secretary and safety officer at the time of the disaster in 1989

· Peter Metcalf, the solicitor acting for the South Yorkshire Police during the Taylor Inquiry and the first inquests

· Former Chief Superintendent Donald Denton of South Yorkshire Police

· Former Detective Chief Inspector Alan Foster of South Yorkshire Police

· Norman Bettison, a former officer with South Yorkshire Police and subsequently Chief Constable of Merseyside and West Yorkshire Police

[Paul S]

David Duckenfield charged with gross manslaughter

Sue Hemming, the CPS Head of Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division confirms:


“I have found that there is sufficient evidence to charge former Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield, who was the Match Commander on the day of the disaster, with the manslaughter by gross negligence of 95 men, women and children.”


Norman Bettison - four charges of misconduct in public office

Former Chief Constable Norman Bettison is charged with four offences of misconduct in public office relating to telling alleged lies about his involvement in the aftermath of Hillsborough and the culpability of fans.

Ms Hemming states: “Given his role as a senior police officer, we will ask the jury to find that this was misconduct of such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public’s trust in the office holder.”

Former Sheffield Wednesday club secretary Graham Mackrell charged

Graham Henry Mackrell, who was Sheffield Wednesday Football Club’s company secretary and safety officer at the time, is charged with two offences of contravening a term of condition of a safety certificate contrary to the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975 and one offence of failing to take reasonable care for the health and safety of other persons who may have been affected by his acts or omissions at work under the Health and Safety at Work etc.
Act 1974. These offences relate to alleged failures to carry out his duties as required.
South Yorkshire Police solicitor charges



Peter Metcalf, who was the solicitor acting for the South Yorkshire Police during the Taylor Inquiry and the first inquests, is charged with doing acts with intent to pervert the course of public justice relating to material changes made to witness statements.

Mr Metcalf, an experienced solicitor, was instructed by Municipal Mutual Insurance to represent the interests of the force at the Taylor Inquiry and in any civil litigation that might result from the Hillsborough Disaster.

He reviewed the accounts provided by the officers and made suggestions for alterations, deletions and amendments which we allege were directly relevant to the Salmon letter issued by the Taylor Inquiry and for which there appears to be no justification.

Former policemen Denton and Foster also charged

Former Chief Superintendent Donald Denton and former Detective Chief Inspector Alan Foster are similarly charged for their involvement in the same matter. The CPS statement reads:

“It is alleged that Donald Denton oversaw the process of amending the statements and in doing so, he did acts that had a tendency to pervert the course of public justice and we will say that Alan Foster was central to the process of changing the statements and took action to do so.”

[Guy Profumo]

So, Wednesday, SCC, SYP, and (possibly) S Yorks Ambulance Service dodge a bullet by not having corporate charges brought.

[Paul S]

Sheffield Wednesday - no charges

The CPS has explained that Sheffield Wednesday PLC is the legal entity, existing only on paper, which was Sheffield Wednesday Football Club in 1989.

Ms Hemmings says that Sheffield Wednesday Football Club as it exists today is a “different company” and as it is not a successor organisation, is not criminally liable for any offences that might have been committed.

Ms Hemmings’ statement adds: “Operation Resolve took action to preserve the paper company at the outset of the investigation so that a full investigation could take place.

“There are no longer any directors or other individuals who form the company and therefore no-one who could represent it in the dock, give instructions to answer any criminal charge or enter a plea.

“Even if the company were to be found guilty in those circumstances, there could be no penalty as it does not have any assets with which to pay a fine and no-one else liable to pay it. As a consequence, whilst I have concluded that there is sufficient evidence for a health and safety offence, it is not in the public interest to prosecute now.”

Ambulance service - no charges

The CPS states that:

“We considered the actions of the South Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service, which has been criticised for its failure to respond adequately to the unfolding disaster.

“It is clear that SYMAS was a service supplied by the Trent Regional Health Authority (TRHA) rather than a legal entity itself. The TRHA ceased to exist when its responsibilities were transferred. However, criminal liability was not transferred to the successor organisations, so there is no body, corporate or incorporate, which can now be prosecuted even if liability could be proven.”

Three ambulance staff also not charged

The CPS said this after deciding not to bring charges against three ambulance service employees who were present on the day.

For reference, TRHA refers to Trent Regional Health Authority, which supplied the ambulance service, SYMAS means South Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service and HSWA refers to Health and Safety offences.

Here is the statement from Ms Hemmings:

“We have considered the actions of three ambulance service employees. We examined the records of the TRHA and neither of the more senior officers (or by definition the junior officer) is capable of amounting to a ‘senior manager’ under section 37 of the HSWA.

“We therefore considered whether any of the three might have committed any other HSWA offence and in doing so considered expert evidence in respect of the SYMAS response. The expert is critical of the overall response but is unable to quantify the effect that any failings had on the victims. Any identifiable breach therefore, would be ‘non-causative.”

[Guy Profumo]

Hang on, SWFC is a different company and not a successor organisation?

So how come the FA didn't force them to reform down at step 6 like Hereford and Wimbledon had to?

[Sean of the Shed]

Hang on, SWFC is a different company and not a successor organisation?

So how come the FA didn't force them to reform down at step 6 like Hereford and Wimbledon had to?

Possibly because they have never been wound up like Hereford and WImbledon have.

[Third rate Leszno]

I am so pleased that Bettison is to face charges - I still find it astonishing that he was allowed to go on and serve as Chief Constable of Merseyside.

[Ray de Galles]

Possibly because they have never been wound up like Hereford and WImbledon have.

Minor point of pedantry - AFC Wimbledon had to start at Step 5 because they were, in the FA's eyes, actually a new club not because they were wound up.

[Janik]

Leeds, Leicester and a number of others are different companies/non-successor organisations in the same sense as Sheffield Wednesday. If they were otherwise then the debts and liabilities would have transferred over, which would defeat the point of going into administration.

[David Agnew]

Graham Mackerell. The man who felt he should resign as club secretary of West Ham for playing Manny Omoyinmi in the League Cup when he was cup tied, but didn't resign from the same post at Wednesday after Hillsborough.

[jwdd27]

Somebody needs to be "that guy" and remind everybody that as charges have now been brought, be careful of commentary outside of the facts of the charges - right to a fair trial, importance of not wriggling out of it etc.

[Sean of the Shed]

Minor point of pedantry - AFC Wimbledon had to start at Step 5 because they were, in the FA's eyes, actually a new club not because they were wound up.

Heh, of course. Maybe I was trying to pretend that what happened to the old club never happened. It's a very individual case. Perhaps not a suitable example in the first place. Aldershot or Halifax would have been a better one.

[Thierry Ennui]

From what I've gathered from more legal savvy Wednesday fans, I think the company name change was something Milan Mandaric did so he could buy us during the threat of administration in 2010. That and the law being different for corporate negligence at the time has seen Wednesday (along with a couple of others) let off, and individuals charged instead.

It's nice to see some people have been held accountable after all this time. It's just a shame certain politicians and journalists couldn't be stuck on the dock as well.

[longeared]

Yeah, Wednesday in 1989 were owned by Sheffield Wednesday Football Club PLC. That effectively ceased to be at the end of 2010 when Mandaric bought the club and all the previous directors left. After that the owners were UK Football Investments LLC, registered in Delaware, USA. Mandaric sold the club in early 2015 to the current owner Dejphon Chansiri. Not sure who the company is that now owns the club to be honest, but it isn't the PLC.

[ursus arctos]

Per the latest filings at Companies House, Chansiri holds all of the shares of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club Limited in his own name.

[Jorge Porbillas]

David Duckenfield charged with gross manslaughter

Sue Hemming, the CPS Head of Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division confirms:


“I have found that there is sufficient evidence to charge former Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield, who was the Match Commander on the day of the disaster, with the manslaughter by gross negligence of 95 men, women and children.”

Why not 96?

[jwdd27]

The 96th victim (Tony Bland) died 4 years later, which ,makes it out of jurisdiction according to the law at the time.

[Lang Spoon]

Fuckin hell, for some reason I forgot Tony Bland of the right to die case was a victim of Hillsborough.

[NHH]

Per the latest filings at Companies House, Chansiri holds all of the shares of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club Limited in his own name.

I just looked and Sheffield Wednesday FC Ltd is the football club, which is the same body which owns the league membership share and the FA membership share. The problem is that this body came into being on 8th June 1990, after Hillsborough. They took action 15 months after the event to create a new legal entity, it would seem.

[ursus arctos]

Somewhat interestingly, that new entity was called Middlewood Development Company Limited.

Wednesday's training ground is on Middlewood Road

[Antepli Ejderha]

Hillsborough relatives 'disgusted' by CPS decision over West Midlands police

https://www.theguardian.com/football...y_to_clipboard

Another cover up it appears, not naming the officers involved and not charging them either. Sadly I'm not surprised but it's disgusting. I thought with some prosecutions that we'd moved forward.

[Gangster Octopus]

Duckenfield to stand trial.

[Eggchaser]

Somewhat interestingly, that new entity was called Middlewood Development Company Limited.

Wednesday's training ground is on Middlewood Road

Interesting but unsurprising.

Anyway, roll on the trials, if they aren't all mysteriously struck down with temporary Alzheimer's.

[Antepli Ejderha]

Why is it for 95 and not 96? Read the link and I now know why.

Heard this on the radio and there was no explanation.

[salt n shake]

Charges dropped against Norman Bettison (!)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-45258766#

A little more than the BBC placeholder here: https://www.theguardian.com/football...orman-bettison