Family of Hillsborough victims criticise 'hollow' police apology

A "hollow" apology from police for denying that victims of the Hillsborough disaster had endured "pain and suffering" has been condemned by families and politicians.

Trevor and Jenni Hicks, whose daughters Victoria, 15, and Sarah, 19, were killed in the 1989 terrace crush have launched a campaign to correct official court records which wrongly state their girls had "swift and sudden deaths".

The Hicks said it would be "very simple" for South Yorkshire Police (SYP) to rectify the official records by reading a statement in open court.

While the force has issued an "unreserved apology" to the Hicks family, it has not given any indication it will agree to call for a new court hearing.

The records in question stem from a civil case in the early 1990s when some families of the 97 victims of the football stadium disaster sued SYP for the pain and suffering their loved ones had experienced before they died.

Sarah and Victoria became test cases, but the police lawyers successfully relied on what became known as the "30 second rule" - flawed medical evidence which claimed all victims were unconscious within 30 seconds of being caught in the crush at Sheffield Wednesday's stadium on 15 April 1989.

That premise was proven categorically false by both the Hillsborough Independent Panel report in 2012 and new inquests which concluded four years later.

Witness accounts and fresh expert evidence confirmed Victoria and Sarah had suffered for about an hour and would have drifted in and out of consciousness as the pressure on the Leppings Lane terrace "waxed and waned".

At a campaign event in the House of Lords earlier, the Hicks called on parliament, the courts and the wider justice system to reflect on how inaccurate official records can be amended when new evidence comes to light.

Trevor Hicks told the BBC the police had adopted an "absurd position that doesn't stand up to any reasonable examination".

Since announcing their campaign on Friday, they have received a letter from South Yorkshire's Chief Constable Lauren Poultney which stated: "If the case was to be re-run today, it would not be defended by South Yorkshire Police, and I apologise that the case was contested in 1991."

Poultney added that the "serious errors and mistakes" of her force had led to "lives being lost" and were a source of "tremendous regret".

However the letter made no mention of any new hearing.

"It's hollow," Trevor Hicks said of Poultney's letter.

"We've had tea and sympathy for nearly 40 years, but it's very simple for [Poultney] to take her own portrayed position and convert it into action, do a very simple thing.

"You've heard how simple it would be to do and so I just don't understand why South Yorkshire Police's position is what it is."

Jenni Hicks said it was a "good apology" but added: "The words need to be followed with actions."

The event was also attended by former Prime Minister, Baroness Theresa May, and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

Baroness May said it "beggars belief" that the Hicks were still having to fight to have the "truth acknowledged" about what had happened to their daughters.

"South Yorkshire Police must see that this is another disgraceful example of the evasion and obfuscation of the last four decades," she said.

"Surely, at some point, this must stop and I would urge South Yorkshire Police to see sense and agree to a statement in court clarifying what the truth is regarding the death of Sarah and Victoria."

Burnham, who gave a speech at the event, said the issue highlighted the importance of implementing the delayed Hillsborough Law - which would impose a legal duty for public officials to tell the truth or face criminal sanctions.

"We still have problematic relationship with the truth being told in this country," he said.

"Until we see this through to the end, in this country all people and all places are not equal."