New inquiry launched into Hillsborough disaster
High court overturns accidental death verdicts and home secretary vows to 'deliver justice' in new probe after report points to police cover-up
A British court yesterday quashed accidental death verdicts returned after 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death at the Hillsborough football stadium in 1989, while police launched a new probe into the disaster.
Following a request made by Attorney General Dominic Grieve at a crowded courtroom in London, High Court judges annulled the inquest verdicts delivered in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy and called for fresh inquests to be held.
The move follows the publication of a damning independent report in September which concluded that 41 of the 96 people who died would have had the "potential to survive" if they had received medical treatment more quickly.
The fatal crush was caused by huge overcrowding in a terrace at Hillsborough Stadium in the northern English city of Sheffield prior to an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest 23 years ago.
It was the worst disaster in the history of British sport.
Lord Chief Justice Igor Judge said there were "good grounds" for Grieve's application and described the events surrounding the tragedy as "catastrophic".
He praised victims' families for campaigning to have the original verdicts overturned, saying: "We must record our admiration and respect for their determined search for the truth."
