Emotions run high at Hillsborough memorial

It was a day of remembrance that will never be forgotten.

Not least by Andy Burnham. If, as fans campaigner Rogan Taylor suggests, the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster was “public theatre”, then Burnham was undoubtedly the villain of the piece. Invited by the Hillsborough Family Support Group (HFSG) as a representative of the government, the Culture Secretary’s speech was greeted with a chorus of jeers as the vociferous crowd demanded “Justice for the 96”.

And what a crowd it was. Previous memorial services had attracted an average of eight or nine thousand mourners, but on this occasion large queues formed around Anfield hours before the service had even begun. Official estimates suggest that approximately 30,000 football and non-football supporters from both sides of Liverpool and across the country turned out at the famous stadium to pay their respects to the 96 fans who lost their lives two decades ago. Testament, if ever it were needed, to the strength of feeling still present in this city.

With the Kop full to capacity and supporters still streaming into the stadium, the service began with an address from the Bishop of Liverpool James Jones. Floral tributes were laid and fans bedecked in the red of Liverpool, the blue of Everton and the green of Glasgow Celtic joined the Choir of Anne Stanley and the Liverpool Signing Choir in a rendition of the celebrated football hymn ‘Abide with Me’.

As the city came to a standstill elsewhere, it was then that Reverend Keith Parr, Reverend Kevin Bolton and Father Stephen Maloney read from the book of remembrance the names of those 96 men and women who, on a scorching hot day on April 15th 1989, attended an FA Cup semi-final in Sheffield and never returned home. The names were met by the ringing of a bell and the lighting of a memorial candle before, at precisely 3.06pm – the exact time which the match was abandoned 20 years ago – two minutes of silence were respectfully observed in remembrance of the dead.

Former Liverpool player and manager Kenny Dalglish, still a local hero thanks in part to his compassion in the Hillsborough families' recuperation, then addressed the appreciative crowd with a reading from the Lamentations of Jeremiah: “Although He causes grief, He will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love; for He does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone.”

A similar reading from Margaret Aspinall, Vice-Chairman of the HFSG, was followed by further hymns, prayers and blessings, before the controversial Andy Burnham took to the podium. Burnham’s speech was barely a minute old before it was disrupted by chants and heckles from the irate crowd. It was at this point that the mood of the service shifted from emotional remembrance to anger and frustration at the sense of injustice still present to this day. Burnham, an unfortunate recipient of such a reaction, rushed through his speech before handing over to Trevor Hicks, President of the HFSG.

Mr. Hicks declared afterwards: “I felt for Andy Burnham. I don’t normally feel sorry for politicians but he probably came along thinking he’d get an easy ride and he didn’t get it.

“The fans sent their own message today, no doubt about it,” he added. “The crack may be appearing in the concrete. Apparently a very senior officer with South Yorkshire police has accepted full responsibility for what happened. There’s a statistic that says the average miscarriage of justice takes 26 years to put right, so technically we should get there in the next six years.”

The Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor Steve Rotheram then presented Mr. Hicks and fellow HFSG members with the Freedom Roll of Association “in recognition of their work to support each other and those members of the wider community affected by this disaster”. Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez, along with players Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, placed a ceremonial wreath on the Anfield turf before Gerry Marsden invited the crowd to join him in the singing of Liverpool’s most famous anthem, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.

As the service drew to a close, 96 red balloons were released into the sky in tribute to those who so tragically lost their lives. It seems likely that the question of justice will continue to hang over those affected by the disaster for the foreseeable future, but what is certainly not in doubt are the strong emotions still felt in Liverpool. The 96 will never be forgotten here.