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Tens of thousands of UK people rally over Hillsborough victims

Thursday, 28 April 2016 7:29 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 28 April 2016 7:31 AM ]

People hold Liverpool football scarves in the air outside St George's Hall in Liverpool, north on April 27, 2016.©AFP

Some thirty thousand Britons have rallied in Liverpool to honor the victims of the Hillsborough disaster and their families’ epic fight for justice.

People gathered outside the city's St George’s Hall on Wednesday in memory of 96 football fans who died in the Hillsborough football stadium disaster in 1989.

Large banners with the words 'Truth and Justice,' which also included the names of the victims, were unfurled at the hall and people chanted “Justice for the 96.”

The rally came after an inquiry concluded on Tuesday that the Liverpool fans were unlawfully killed.

The result, which came after a 27-year campaign by the victims’ relatives, showed that match commander Ch Supt David Duckenfield was "responsible for manslaughter by gross negligence" because of breaching his duty of care.

The jurors also said that police errors at the game also contributed to the deaths.

People rally in Liverpool to honor Hillsborough disaster victims on April 27, 2016. ©AFP

A 1991 inquest ruled that the deaths were accidental and senior police and security officials blamed the victims for causing their own deaths.

The families were campaigning relentlessly against the 1991 verdicts, which were quashed in 2012 following a report by an independent panel and Fresh hearings were ordered.

Following strong demand both by the public and senior political figures, the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Billings announced Wednesday that chief constable David Crompton has been suspended in the wake of the new findings.

Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said the families won "a tremendous battle on behalf of their loved ones and on behalf of their city," as “the wall of lies was finally torn down.”

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