Report: Soccer fans wrongly blamed in 1989

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LONDON, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Police and emergency services covered up their responsibility for the deaths of 96 English soccer fans in 1989, an investigative panel reported Wednesday.

The Hillsborough Independent Panel report concluded 41 of the 96 Liverpool fans killed at the stadium in Sheffield might have been saved if the emergency response had been adequate, The Daily Telegraph said.

The Hillsborough Disaster occurred April 15, 1989, when Liverpool fans attempted to enter Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield to watch a semifinal match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. As the match was beginning, a crush developed outside the turnstiles and then turned into a crush inside.

The new report has concluded police attempted to minimize their own mishandling of the situation by blaming the fans. For example, blood alcohol levels were taken for all the victims, including children, to suggest that drunkenness was involved, that many Liverpool fans did not have tickets and that there was a conspiracy among Liverpool fans to get to the match late.

Dr. Bill Kirkup, a member of the panel involved in the new report, said officials also argued that those killed were all dead or brain-dead by 3:15 p.m. that afternoon. In fact, he said, evidence from autopsies shows that 41 people had injuries that might have allowed them to survive with prompt medical attention.

Prime Minister David Cameron apologized to Liverpool fans while speaking in the House of Commons about the report Wednesday, Sky News said.

"This appalling death toll of so many loved ones lost was compounded by an attempt to blame the victims," he said. "A narrative about hooliganism on that day was created which led many in the country to accept that it was somehow a grey area."