Liverpool unveils football disaster memorial

A MEMORIAL ceremony has been held on the eve of the 24th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said the event was extra special because it was the first since the families of victims fought and won justice in their campaign to clear blame for the disaster from the dead.

Today marks the 24th anniversary of the tragedy on April 15, 1989 – one of Britain’s worst sporting disasters.

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About 300 people, including the families of victims and civic and faith leaders, gathered at Liverpool town hall where a permanent memorial was established yesterday by an antique clock with the time frozen at 3.06pm – the exact time that the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest was stopped as officials realised fans were being crushed on the terraces in Sheffield.

Mr Anderson said: “Twenty-four years, the passage of time has still not dulled the pain and suffering for those of you gathered here today.”

The mayor said the 96 were “robbed of their dignity by the people in authority” who indulged in “lies and deceit” rather than admit their mistakes.

But the families who fought the official version of events “exemplified” the fighting spirit of the city of Liverpool, to never give up.

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Last September, the Hillsborough Independent Panel (HIP) laid bare a shocking cover-up which attempted to shift the blame for the tragedy on to its victims. “You pursued the truth, they peddled lies. You stood up for what’s right,” the mayor said.

“The authorities’ role in Hillsborough is our country’s shame. A national disgrace.”

The ornate 1780s clock, from the collection of National Museums Liverpool, was made by renowned clock maker John Clifton.

A brass plaque accompanying the memorial reads: “This clock is stopped at 3.06pm in memory of the 96 fans who went to a football match and never came home. Hillsborough, 15th April, 1989.”

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Prayers were said and the hymn Abide With Me sung by a soloist, before a minute’s silence was held to remember the dead.

The Hillsborough Independent Panel was set up by then Home Secretary Jacqui Smith amid a wave of public pressure on the 20th anniversary of the disaster and following years of campaigning by the Hillsborough families.

Following publication of the report, the original inquest verdicts were quashed by the High Court in December and fresh inquests are due to take place. There is also a major investigation into the scandal by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Margaret Aspinall, who lost her son James in the disaster and is chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, attended yesterday’s event at the Town Hall, ahead of major commemorations on the anniversary today.

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She said: “I think it’s going to be an emotional day for everybody but also I think it should also be a bit of a celebration for the fans and survivors there that day, because they went through so much and it’s the first time in all these years that we have had the truth out.

“I think that for me is very, very powerful – for all of them, to be able, all of them to remember, but also to celebrate their achievements with the campaign to get to the truth.

“People have said you know, it’s been a journey for all these years.It has been a journey, but it’s been hell.”

Later a 7ft bronze monument was unveiled in Liverpool city centre carrying the names of the 96 people who died. The bronze sculpture, created by local artist Tom Murphy, was dedicated to the victims at a public ceremonyon Old Haymarket.

Alongside the names of the victims, it features the words “Hillsborough Disaster – we will remember them”.