LIVERPOOL AND THE wider footballing community will come together this afternoon to mark the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough Stadium disaster.
For the families of the 96 fans who lost their lives, the fight for the truth about the tragedy continues.
After an independent report found that 41 fans could have been saved that day, the initial verdict of accidental death was quashed and fresh inquests began last month.
Here are the key dates in the long fight for justice:
15 April 1989: At the start of the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough in Sheffield, a crush of supporters against the steel fences at the Leppings Lane end of the stadium leads to the death of 94 Liverpool fans (two are to die later) and leaves hundreds injured.
April 1989: Just days after the disaster, The Sun newspaper publishes a now-infamous front-page story headlined The Truth, saying drunken Liverpool fans were to blame.
August 1989: An interim report by Lord Justice Taylor says police were at fault for failing to close off a tunnel leading to pens for supporters, failing to control the build-up of fans outside the stadium, and their slow reaction to the tragedy. He criticises Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield for “failing to take effective control” and South Yorkshire Police, which blamed supporters for arriving at the ground “late and drunk”.
January 1990: Lord Taylor’s report recommends the removal of terrace fences and the introduction of all-seater stadiums.
April 1990: Inquests into the victims’ deaths begin.
August 1990: The director of public prosecutions finds there is insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against the police or any other individual, group or body.
March 1991: Inquests into the deaths return a verdict of accidental death for the victims, ruling they were all dead by 3.15pm.
March 1993: Tony Bland, 22, becomes the 96th and final victim of the tragedy when he is taken off life support after four years in a persistent vegetative state.
June 1997: Home Secretary Jack Straw orders evidence to be re-scrutinised.
August 1998: After Straw rules out a new inquiry, the Hillsborough Family Support Group brings private manslaughter charges against Duckenfield and his deputy, Superintendent Bernard Murray, who were both in charge that day.
July 2000: Following a six-week trial, a jury finds Murray not guilty of manslaughter and fails to reach a verdict on Duckenfield. The judge refused a retrial, saying that a fair trial for Duckenfield would be impossible.
April 2009: The Hillsborough Independent Panel is set up in the wake of the 20th anniversary of the tragedy.
October 2011: MPs agree that all government papers should be handed over to an independent panel.
September 2012: The report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel finds police orchestrated a cover-up, falsified documents and blamed innocent supporters. It says the lives of 41 fans could have been saved and clears supporters of any wrongdoing or blame for the disaster, prompting a public apology from Prime Minster David Cameron.
October 2012: The IPCC police watchdog and director of public prosecutions announce they will both launch inquiries into possible crimes committed by police involved in the disaster.
December 2012: Following the cover-up revelations, the High Court quashes the original coroner’s verdicts.
March 2014: Fresh inquests into the death begin in Warrington and are expected to last for several months.
