The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster, 15 April 1989

Terms of Reference: To inquire into the events at Sheffield Wednesday football ground on 15 April 1989 and to make recommendations about the needs of crowd control and safety at sports events

Chair: Lord Taylor CJ

Panel Members: Two assessors – Mr Brian Johnson QPM, Chief Constable of Lancashire and Professor Leonard Maunder, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne

Dates:

· Establishment: 17 April 1989

· Hearings: Preliminary hearing 28 April 1989, evidence heard from 15 May 1989 – 29 June 1989 (31 sitting days)

Report: Interim Report – 1 August 1989; Final Report – 18 January 1990

Link to website and or download report: http://www.southyorks.police.uk/foi/publicationscheme/significantpublicinterest

On 15 April 1989, Liverpool Football Club played Nottingham Forest Football Club in the semi-final of the FA Cup. The match was played at Hillsborough, the stadium of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club. 96 Liverpool fans died as a result of being crushed when the pens holding them in the Leppings Lane end of the ground became overcrowded. Lord Taylor CJ was appointed to investigate the causes of the disaster and to recommend changes to avoid similar incidents in the future.

Summary of report’s recommendations

Interim Report – 43 detailed recommendations relating to:

· Maximum capacities for terraces
· Filling and monitoring terraces
· Fences and gates
· Crush barriers
· Safety certificates
· Duties of each football club
· Police planning
· Communications
· Co-ordination of emergency services
· First aid, medical facilities and ambulances

Final Report – 76 detailed recommendations relating to:

· All-Seated Accommodation
· Advisory Design Council
· National Inspectorate and Review Body
· Maximum Capacity for Terraces
· Filling and Monitoring Terraces
· Gangway
· Fences and Gates
· Crush Barriers
· Safety Certificates
· Duties of Each Football Club
· Police Planning
· Communications
· Co-ordination of Emergency Services
· First Aid, Medical Facilities and Ambulances
· Offences and Penalties
· Green Guide

Litigation:

R v. HM Coroner for South Yorkshire, ex parte Stringer (1994) 158 JP 453, [1994] COD 176

Alcock v. Chief Constable of South Yorkshire [1992] 1 AC 310
Airedale NHS Trust v. Bland [1993] AC 789
White v. Chief Constable of South Yorkshire [1999] 2 AC 455
R v. Duckenfield and Murray (unreported private prosecution, 25 July 2000)