About the book

Synopsis

Hillsborough: The Truth was first published in 1999 to universal acclaim. Established as the definitive, unique account of the disaster in which 96 men, women and children died, hundreds were injured and thousands were traumatised, it details the appalling treatment endured by the bereaved and survivors in the immediate aftermath and the inhumanity of the identification process.

The book reveals the inadequacies of the police investigations, official inquiries and inquests, and uncovers the systematic review and alteration of South Yorkshire police statements conducted with the approval of police investigators and Lord Justice Taylor's inquiry. It also examines the subsequent private prosecution and trial of two senior police officers in 2000. Using verbatim accounts, Scraton's analysis demonstrates the inadequacy of legal processes and the remarkable breadth of judicial discretion undermining and inhibiting such cases.

Powerful, disturbing and harrowing, Hillsborough: The Truth exposes the institutional complacency that made a tragedy on this scale inevitable. It shows the law's failure to provide appropriate means of access, disclosure and redress for those facing the consequences of institutional neglect and personal negligence. And it tells how ordinary people suffer when those in authority sacrifice truth and accountability to protect their reputations.

In this new edition, Scraton reflects critically on two decades of legal and policy reform, on the long-term consequences of media-hyped, untruthful allegations made against Liverpool fans, and on the continuing strugglesof the bereaved and survivors who have campaigned relentlessly for truth, acknowledgement and justice.