Hillsborough Families Looking to Sue Police Force for “Abuse on Industrial Scale”

Hillsborough families are aiming to lodge legal action against the police authorities responsible for the disaster in 1989.

(Image credit: BBC)

The inquest jury found errors caused by the police force to be at fault for the Hillsborough disaster on April 15, 1989, which the Hillsborough families are accusing of “a systematic cover-up” and “abuse on an industrial scale.” The relatives of the 96 victims and countless survivors that were injured that day are looking to seek £19 million in damages from South Yorkshire and West Midlands police forces.

Martin Brunt, Sky News correspondent, highlighted that nearly 400 people have joined forces in taking legal action against the responsible authorities. “Something like 386 are joined together in a class action. They are suing the forces for damages. We are still not allowed to know the specific details – and the forces have up to seven months in which to respond,” said Brunt.

Current Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp also gave his views on the matter, emphasizing that nearly three decades of waiting for the truth to come out for the Hillsborough families is a really long time. “I’m really happy. 27 years is an unbelievable long time, but it shows all of us if you feel ready to fight for the truth and are patient enough to wait for the moment, then it can happen,” said the German who took over the helm of Liverpool last year in October. “I’m really pleased for all of them. It’s a great moment.”

The class action was issued at the High Court in 2015 by Hillsborough families, however the case was not allowed to be made public until the inquests came up with the final verdict.

London-based law firm, Saunders Law, has been tasked with the case. “There is evidence of a systematic cover-up intended to transfer the blame for what happened from South Yorkshire Police to the innocent by spreading lies, doctoring evidence, pressuring witnesses and suppressing the truth,” said James Saunders, senior partner of the legal firm.

“The evidence points to the abuse on an industrial scale by both South Yorkshire and West Midlands Police beyond any one bad apple analysis, Saunders said before adding that there has been case of “institutional misfeasance.” “In addition to actions by individuals the evidence suggests institutional misfeasance by these bodies directed against our clients and the fans generally.”

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