ANDY BURNHAM, BRITAIN’S shadow home secretary, welcomed today’s Hillsborough inquest verdicts as “real justice” and said that accountability for the tragedy that killed 96 people must now follow.

An inquest jury ruled that the football fans who lost their lives at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final were unlawfully killed, bringing closure to the victims’ families in their 27-year fight for justice.

Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service will now decide whether to bring criminal charges against the individuals and organisations responsible for the stadium disaster.

In a statement, Burnham said:

This has been the greatest miscarriage of justice of our times. But, finally, it is over. After 27 long years, this is real justice for the 96, their families and all Liverpool supporters. The survivors of this tragedy can finally be remembered for what they were on that day – the heroes of Hillsborough who tried to help their fellow fans. The Hillsborough Independent Panel gave us the truth. This Inquest has delivered justice. Next must come accountability. For 27 years, this police force has consistently put protecting itself above protecting those hurt by the horror of Hillsborough. People must be held to account for their actions and prosecutions must now follow.Disgracefully, lawyers for retired police have attempted to continue the cover-up in this courtroom. They made it an adversarial battle in defiance of the Lord Chief Justice’s ruling. This has been brutal on the Hillsborough families and put them through hell once again. The current leadership of South Yorkshire Police needs to explain why it went back on its 2012 apology at this Inquest, prolonging the agony for the families.

The sense of relief we feel is tempered by the knowledge that this day has taken far too long in coming. The struggle for justice has taken too great a toll on too many. But the Hillsborough families have at long last prevailed and finally their loved-ones can rest in peace.

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Steve Rotheram, MP for Liverpool Walton, said:

I have waited 27 years for this moment. But I know it comes too late for many. I was there on the day and saw the horror unfold before my very eyes. Before we’d even buried our dead, the hurt of loss was compounded by the lies and smears. I remember picking up a newspaper and feeling sick to the pit of my stomach. They inflicted terrible pain on a city at its moment of maximum grief. I’ve seen how friends have suffered. This is a momentous day but they should never have had to wait so long. The truth is out there for all to see. Justice has been served by the verdicts and now it is about accountability.”

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Margaret Aspinall, whose son James died aged 18, was speaking outside the inquest (via The Guardian):

People say we’ve been on a long journey. I don’t look on it as a long journey, I look on that as going on holiday. But we’ve been on some very bumpy roads, we’ve been climbing up mountains and never reached the top. We’ve got to the peak now lads! Every one of us has got to the peak of that mountain and got what we rightfully deserved. I knew in the end we will overcome them, they will not rule us.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said that the inquest “provides long overdue justice.”
https://twitter.com/David_Cameron/status/724918489698459648
https://twitter.com/David_Cameron/status/724918616307712001

Messages of support flowed in from across the football community, led by a host of former Liverpool stars and the club’s Merseyside neighbours Everton:
https://twitter.com/Carra23/status/724906924693704704
https://twitter.com/Realaldo474/status/724908060922236928
https://twitter.com/Roy_Evo/status/724909126506168320
https://twitter.com/Everton/status/724929015832842240
https://twitter.com/BVB/status/724918541405835264

Jury finds 96 Liverpool fans were unlawfully killed at Hillsborough

Watch: Hillsborough families greet inquest verdicts with emotional ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’

A 27-year wait for justice – The Hillsborough timeline