Hillsborough: The Truth was first published in 1999 to universal acclaim, and this edition is published to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the tragedy. Established as the definitive, unique account of the disaster in which 96 Liverpool FC fans - men, women and children - died, hundreds were injured and thousands traumatised, it details the appalling treatment endured by the bereaved and survivors in the immediate aftermath, the inhumanity of the identification process and the vilification of fans in the national and international media. The initial research revealed the inadequacies of the police investigations, official inquiries and inquests, uncovering the systematic review and alteration of South Yorkshire Police statements with the approval of police investigators and Lord Justice Taylor's inquiry.
It also examines in depth the trial of two senior police officers in 2000. Using verbatim accounts Scraton's detailed analysis demonstrates the fundamental flaws in the legal processes, the denial of justice to the families and the disregard for the public interest. Powerful, disturbing and harrowing, Hillsborough: The Truth exposes the institutional complacency that led inevitably to the tragedy.
It shows the Law's failure to provide access, disclosure and address to those suffering the consequences of institutional neglect and personal negligence. It tells how the interests of ordinary people are marginalised when those in authority sacrifice truth and accountability to protect their reputations. Scraton was appointed to the Hillsborough Independent Panel to lead its research and was primary author of its ground-breaking Report published in 2012.
Against a backdrop of two decades of continual struggle by bereaved families and survivors, in this new edition he reflects critically on the work of the Panel, its astonishing findings and their impact - new criminal investigations; the largest ever inquiry by the Independent Police Complaints Commission; the quashing of 96 inquest verdicts; new inquests; review of all health and pathology policies. He considers the potential of this work for truth recovery and institutional accountability in other controversial cases.
