BBC Radio 4 2016-04-27

BBC Radio 4 2016-04-27

“The Truth” said the tabloid newspaper, in big bold capital letters, right across the front page. And according to The Sun, the truth was this: “Some fans picked the pockets of victims. Some fans urinated on the brave cops.” All total rubbish, of course. And later The Sun apologised. But they weren’t the only ones to get it so very badly wrong.

St Matthew’s Gospel has it thus in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you …” And we have another phrase for it now: victim blaming.

It’s been a long journey for the families of the men, women and children who died at Hillsborough’s Lepping’s Lane Terrace on the 15th of April 1989. Indeed, it included the longest jury proceeding in British legal history. And over all these years, layers of lies and official cover-up have been gradually discovered and disguarded.

A few days after the tragedy, in Sheffield cathedral, Dr John Habgood, then Archbishop of York said this in his sermon: “The truth will out. And what kind of truth will it be?”

Well, now we know that many lives could have been saved if it wasn’t for the failures of the police in charge who mismanaged a dangerous crush. Now we know that some of the police withheld evidence, amended statements and told lies about the supporters, trying to cast them in the role of drunken hooligans. “Thou shalt not bear false witness” is the ninth of the ten commandments. It’s one of the foundation stones of moral civilization in the Judao-Christian tradition. And it took decades of struggle by the families of the Hillsborough victims for the truth to be officially told, exonerating the fans and their behaviour on that terrible day. Over this time, many Hillsborough families refused to accept death certificates that included the misleading description “accidental death.” Now, however, we can publically bear witness to the truth: it was “unlawful killing” – and there’s something profoundly healing about being able to say as much.

Back in January, the Hillsborough families unanimously agreed that the 15th of this month was to be the final Hillsborough memorial service at Anfield. They all sang “abide with me” and former Everton striker Greame Sharp read from the 23rd Psalm: “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, thou art with me” – which is, I guess, a more explicitly religious version of the Liverpool favorite “you’ll never walk alone”, which they also sang.

People talk about moving on, as if it were that easy. It’s not. But grief has its stages - and getting to the truth is one of them. And achieving justice is another. Though perhaps sufficient for today is this: 96 people were unlawfully killed because of what happened that day. May they all rest in peace. Amen.