The Liverpool Echo marked the Hillsborough inquest verdicts with a special late edition as its editor pledged his newspaper’s continuing support for the families of the victims.
Echo editor Alastair Machray said the paper had been “privileged” to report on the 27-year fight for justice by the families of 96 Liverpool FC supporters who died in a crush at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium in April 1989.
A reporter from the Echo had been present at court in Warrington for every day of the inquest, which has taken two years to complete and concluded yesterday morning when the jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing for all 96 who died.
The late edition was brought out yesterday lunchtime with the front page featuring a line from Liverpool anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone.’
In an editorial, Alastair said: “The verdict of the Hillsborough Inquests’ jury represents justice – albeit justice which should have been delivered 25 or more years ago.
“The Liverpool Echo remains angry that the families of the 96 have had to wait so long and endure so much misery in order to get to this point.
“The families will now decide what happens next and we will continue to offer them our support and a voice in whatever choices they make.”
The Echo’s ‘Justice for the 96′ campaign was instrumental in keeping the families’ 27-year fight for justice on the political agenda and in eventually securing the fresh inquests.
The jury found by a majority vedict that match commander Ch Supt David Duckenfield, of South Yorkshire Police, was “responsible for manslaughter by gross negligence” due to a breach of his duty of care.
Liverpool supporters, whose behaviour had initially been blamed as partially responsible for the deaths, were exonerated by the jury. Criminal proceedings could now be brought as a result of the findings.
Alastair added: “We have been privileged over 27 years to witness the strength and perseverance of the families and it was our duty to respond in this way.
“There have been many villains in this story and many heroes. Above all heroes, sit the families themselves.
“The inquest verdicts, we hope, will help bring to an end a 27-year story of institutionalised cover-up and shameful disregard, both for truth and for the ‘’ordinary person’.
“What the institutions failed to recognise is that they were not dealing with ordinary people and that Liverpool is not an ordinary city.”
The Echo followed up yesterday’s special with the below front page today:
Elsewhere, Sheffield daily The Star also ran the below front page and a 16-page supplement about the disaster:
The Yorkshire Post ran its own tribute to those who died:
The Nottingham Post focused on the memories of supporters of Nottingham Forest, Liverpool’s opponents on the fateful day:
The Lancashire Evening Post splashed on an interview with Preston man and Hillsborough survivor Mark Aspden, who was in a coma for two days and told the newspaper he cold have been the tragedy’s “97th” victim:
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Just been reading the web page and there’s masses of fantastic journalism. We should all applaud the people of Liverpool and their papers for refusing to let ths lie.
But after 27 years the inquest verdicts must be seen as the beginning. It’s no surprise that so many police officers lied, conspired and smeared the dead and the innocent. It’s what the police do: cover their own ar$es.
Go get em Liverpool Echo and the people of Liverpool. There are 96 families that deserve it.
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Be interesting to see what Sun makes of it all…
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Where can I get a copy of late edition of the echo please
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Superb front capturing all the emotion. Brilliant.
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Great front page. Justice at last.
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Well done the Echo. The Sun could learn something from them….
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OK, this particular story was on a plate, though they handled it brilliantly. But The Echo’s persistence and seeking of the truth has restored my faith in local journalism. At least until the next round of job cuts somewhere.
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Some incredible front pages there.
My old boss (the great Eric Langton) once told me an anecdote about how he was working in the Daily Post (the Echo’s morning sister paper) when the S*n published ‘The Truth’, and how his editor immediately designed their front page right in front of everyone to say ‘The Lies’.
It was a great story and shows how important local papers are for standing up to the establishment.
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If ever there was a front page to emphasise just what we stand to lose with the decline of the British regional press it is this one.
Regional newspaper journalism at its very best. Congratulations to all concerned.
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Powerful front pages, especially the Echo.
I wonder if the Yorkshire Post will invite their regular columnist Bernard Ingham – he of the “tanked-up yobs” slur – to pen a column on the verdicts.
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Illustrates how important it is to have a technically good editor on the spot, sensing the spirit of the community. A lot of weeklies do not have them now, just some remote figure called a group editor or a production monkey politely called a content editor.
Echo should be proud of this work and of the marvellous city.
Better front than the S.. for sure!!!
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The Echo have been superb on this all the way through.
Many papers claim to ‘lead’ campaigns which are usually self congratulatory rubbish, or just trying to relevant. In this case they have.
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Yesterday’s Echo front page is great, today’s ‘Angels and Demons’ is one of the most ridiculous I’ve ever seen. Still, we know the bloodthirsty Echo likes a good witchhunt.
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Truly powerful front pages…
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@Roy Challis – you’re not from round here, are you? You say witchhunt; the people of Liverpool say justice. Sad little man.
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Isn’t Bernard Ingham, Thatcher’s ex-press secretary, also a columnist for the YP? Given he was peddling the slurs about drunk fans for so long, the YP needs to make sure he uses his next column to explain his actions. the fight for truth was made so much harder by the likes of him
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Hackflack – yes, it really secured justice for the 96 when they hounded that man in Reading out of his job. Hectoring bully.
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‘That man’ wasn’t hounded out his job – he committed a journalistic mistake by effectively branding the Hillsborough victims as hooligans. Maybe 30 years ago he’d have got away with such inaccuracies because news stories didn’t travel so quickly then, but that’s the world we live in now. Had he not made such a mistake, he’d probably still be in a job – unless you are saying it’s ok to brand people hooligans so long as their families don’t find out?
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I’m saying that in most other circumstances, an apology would be issued for a journalistic mistake (or censure would be issued by the relevant body) and everyone would move on, rather than retribution being so ruthlessly and bloodthirstily sought. There’s a fundamentalist fervour about the whole thing I find distasteful. People have been wronged and the families have had to wait for too long for closure, but the Reading situation, the use of the word ‘demons’… it’s all a bit “you’re either with us or we’ll burn you on the stake” for me.
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Dammed: Good to see you echoing my concerns re Ingham.
I believe the editor of the YP – not usually one to keep schtum – has yet to pronounce on this matter.
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