Hillsborough - The Truth

Description

A powerful expose of the Hillsborough tragedy, including the new inquest verdicts. This is the definitive, unique account of the disaster in which 96 men, women and children were killed, hundreds injured and thousands traumatised. It details the appalling treatment endured by the bereaved and survivors in the immediate aftermath, the inhumanity of the identification process and the vilification of fans in the national and international media. In 2012, Phil Scraton was primary author of the ground-breaking report published by the Hillsborough Independent Panel following its new research into thousands of documents disclosed by all agencies involved. Against a backdrop of almost three decades of persistent struggle by bereaved families and survivors, in this new edition he reflects on the Panel's in-depth work, its revelatory findings and their unprecedented impact - an unreserved apology from the Prime Minister; new criminal investigations; the Independent Police Complaints Commission's largest-ever inquiry; the quashing of 96 inquest verdicts; a review of all health and pathology policies. Paving the way for truth recovery and institutional accountability in other controversial cases, he details the process and considers the impact of the longest ever inquests, from the preliminary hearings to their comprehensive, devastating verdicts. Powerful, disturbing and harrowing, Hillsborough- The Truth exposes the institutional complacency that led to the unlawful killing of the 96, revealing how the interests of ordinary people are marginalised when those in authority sacrifice truth and accountability to protect their reputations.

Phil Scraton is Professor of Criminology, Queen's University, Belfast and has held visiting scholarships at universities in Melbourne and Sydney. In 2013 he was Karl Lowenstein Fellow at Amherst College, Massachusetts, USA. He has written several books, and as Director of The Hillsborough Project, he was principal author of Hillsborough and After and No Last Rights- The Promotion of Myth and the Denial of Justice in the Aftermath of the Hillsborough Disaster. In 2010 he was appointed to the Hillsborough Independent Panel and is primary author of its report. In 2013 his Hillsborough research received Queen's University's award for research impact and was runner-up in the THES UK Research Project of the Year. The ESPN/ BBC documentary Hillsborough, short-listed in 2014 for an EMMY, is based on his work.

This book is dynamite. A brilliant achievement, a real page-turner. -- Jimmy McGovern The full truth about Hillsborough would never have been known were it not for Phil Scraton's meticulous efforts over many years - he has done a huge service not just to the Hillsborough families but to this country. -- Andy Burnham, MP