Hillsborough disaster: Match commander, 5 others charged over tragedy

Former chief superintendent David Duckenfield has been charged with the manslaughter of 95 people over 28 years after he commandeered police during the tragic events of an FA Cup semi-final in Sheffield.

Last year, inquests into the Hillsborough disaster - a crush which took the lives of 96 Liverpool fans in a meeting with Nottingham Forest on April 15, 1989 - found that the victims had been unlawfully killed, resulting in the possibility of Duckenfield being imprisoned for manslaughter due to gross negligence.

This was confirmed through charges detailed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on Wednesday, although Duckenfield isn't held responsible for the 96th life that was lost for legal reasons. The last victim was 18-year-old Tony Bland, who died in 1993 after suffering severe brain damage in the catastrophe.

Sue Hemming, the head of special crime and the counter-terrorism division of the CPS, said her team would allege Duckenfield's failure to take personal responsibility on the day was "extraordinarily bad and contributed substantially to the deaths of each of those 96 people who so tragically and unnecessarily lost their lives," according to the Guardian's David Conn.

There are a further five people who face charges relating to the incident, including Sir Norman Bettison, who spouted lies in the aftermath which claimed Liverpool fans were responsible for the deaths. The former South Yorkshire police chief inspector faces four counts of misconduct in public office.

"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," said Hemming.

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

She added: "Following our careful review of the evidence, in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, I have decided that there is sufficient evidence to charge six individuals with criminal offences.

"Criminal proceedings have now commenced and the defendants have a right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary, or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings."

The CPS has to apply to the High Court to lift an order imposed after Duckenfield was prosecuted privately in 1999 for him to be charged, BBC News reports.

BBC News summarises the six individuals facing charges:

• Mr. Duckenfield faces manslaughter by gross negligence of 95 men, women, and children.
• Sir Norman faces four charges of misconduct in a public office relating to alleged lies he told in the aftermath about the culpability of fans.
• Graham Mackrell, former Sheffield Wednesday Club secretary, will be accused of breaching Health and Safety and Safety at Sports Ground legislation.
• Peter Metcalf, who was a solicitor acting for South Yorkshire Police, is charged with perverting the course of Justice, relating to changes to witness statements.
• Former chief superintendent Donald Denton is accused of perverting the course of justice.
• Former detective chief inspector Alan Foster is charged with perverting the course of justice.

Wednesday's breakthrough follows a 28-year campaign for accountability in the Hillsborough tragedy after Liverpool fans were accused by the authorities and, most infamously, The Sun newspaper of disrupting police efforts to resuscitate victims in abhorrent ways.

(Photo courtesy: Anfield Road)

To aid the mourning families' endeavours to win justice, the government has funded their court battle from a four-floor Warrington base in recent times. Over the past four-and-a-half years - a pivotal time in the case where fans' names were cleared, and the process of punishing police negligence truly began - legal costs have reached £100 million.