Judge begins summing up evidence in Hillsborough trial

The jury at the trial of two men charged over the 1989 Hillsborough disaster has been told not to draw any adverse inference from the fact that the defendants have exercised their right not to give evidence.

The direction from the judge, Sir Peter Openshaw, came on the first day of his summing up of evidence in the prosecutions of David Duckenfield, a former chief superintendent with South Yorkshire police, and Graham Mackrell, the former Sheffield Wednesday club secretary.

Duckenfield was promoted and appointed match commander 19 days before the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on 15 April 1989. He is charged with gross negligence manslaughter relating to 95 of the 96 people killed in the disaster.

Mackrell took on the safety officer role for Hillsborough alongside his secretary responsibilities after the role was introduced in 1986 after the Bradford fire disaster. He is charged with failing to take reasonable care for the safety of Liverpool supporters at the match, due to the allocation of seven turnstiles for the 10,100 people with tickets to stand on the Leppings Lane and north-west terraces.

Both men have pleaded not guilty.

“Neither defendant gave evidence; that is their right,” Openshaw said. “You must not draw any adverse inference against them because they have exercised that right.”

The judge told the jury at the start of his summing up not to be overawed by the charges or the public interest in the trial, and to “put aside” emotion when considering their verdicts.

“The death of 96 spectators, many of whom were very young, is a profound human tragedy attended by much sadness and anger, which for many is as raw today as it was 30 years ago. Understandably, and probably inevitably, there have been times during the trial of heightened emotion and distress, of which you will have been keenly
aware.

“But, as you go about your duty to strive to deliver verdicts according to the evidence, you must try and put aside your emotions and sympathies and to decide the case after an objective and dispassionate review of the evidence.”

Openshaw said the disaster, caused by a lethal crush in the overcrowded central “pens” of the Leppings Lane terrace, had occurred in the context of football in the 1980s, which was beset by hooliganism, with “common” pitch invasions.

“Games were played in a very different atmosphere,” he said. “Football hooliganism, sometimes fuelled by a heady mixture of tribalism and excessive drinking, marred many games, at which there could be hostility and even violence between rival supporters. Pitch invasions were common.”

The judge summarised the evidence heard by the jury about the safety defects of the Hillsborough ground, which was considered safe and one of the country’s most prestigious. Mackrell was, the prosecution agreed, entitled to rely on the expertise of Sheffield Wednesday’s appointed engineers, Eastwood and Partners, who significantly overcalculated the safe maximum capacity of the Leppings Lane terrace.

The defence case, Openshaw said, was that it is “grossly unfair” for Duckenfield to have been appointed as an inexperienced match commander, provided with no training or structured handover from Ch Supt Brian Mole, whom he replaced, “then 30 years later seek to hold him accountable”.

Referring to the allocation of the Leppings Lane terraces and North stand to the 24,000 people with tickets to support Liverpool, Openshaw said there were many more Liverpool supporters who wanted tickets and “this fuelled a black market”.

Openshaw told the jury that Duckenfield’s barrister, Benjamin Myers QC, had said that: “Quite a large number of Liverpool supporters went to the ground hoping to buy tickets from touts,” or pay dishonestly at the turnstiles, or get in one way or another without tickets.

The judge is expected to conclude his summing up on Friday. Relatives of some of the 96 people who died watched the summing up in the public seats at Preston crown court, and at a live broadcast of the proceedings in Liverpool.