Justice denied Landmark findings bring closure but not consequences

When the Independent Office for Police Conduct published the final report on its investigation into the Hillsborough disaster, the tone of the response could best be characterised as conflicted.

- David Conn

That much is understandable considering the long road that has led to this moment and the historic nature of its findings.

The document can truly be regarded as a landmark, in that the watchdog has found 12 former officers would have had cases to answer for gross misconduct, including Peter Wright, the chief constable of South Yorkshire police at the time of the 1989 disaster.

But the sheer amount of time that has passed between the alleged failings is so great that all the officers have long retired - or, like Wright, already died - meaning that nobody will actually face any disciplinary proceedings.

The report concludes the decades of inquiries, investigations and a generational fight for justice, with the conclusion that 97 people were unlawfully killed, but nobody has been held accountable.

Charlotte Hennessy, who was only six when her father, James, died at Hillsborough, said she welcomed the findings, and that "while some conclusions are disappointing, we respect that the process was investigated and accept the element of closure".

That passage of time, 36 years since the terrible crush at the FA Cup semifinal between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough ground, is emphasised by the IOPC's own long-running process.

In letters sent to families detailing the gross misconduct cases, the IOPC noted the people who made the original complaints after the investigation was launched in 2012. Some were fathers whose children were among the 97 people killed. They have since died themselves, before knowing of these outcomes.

Leslie Jones, the father of Richard Jones, who died with his partner Tracey Cox, made a series of complaints against the South Yorkshire police match commander, Ch Supt David Duckenfield. Philip Hammond, who lost his son, Philip Jr, and Barry Devonside, whose son Christopher died at Hillsborough, had made complaints against Wright.