Anne Williams re-starts Hillsborough legal action over son Kevin's inquest

Sep 18 2012 by John Siddle, Liverpool Echo

THE first legal moves in the wake of the damning Hillsborough panel findings were made today.

Lawyers representing Anne Williams, whose son Kevin died in Sheffield aged just 15, were formally due to launch proceedings that could result in manslaughter charges being brought against those involved in the tragedy and its cover-up.

Barrister Pete Weatherby, QC, said official complaints were to be made to both the Independent Police Complaints Commission and the Director of Public Prosecutions.

He said: “We are formally asking the DPP and IPCC to transparently investigate a number of criminal allegations, including manslaughter, perverting the course of justice and misconduct in public office.

“The position is that the revelations are so shocking that the potential for prosecution goes a lot further than police officers getting their heads together and concocting stories.

“There are issues to be looked at in a number of different areas and we believe there should be a further public inquiry into alleged criminality.

“Anne, in particular, wants to know just how far the cover-up as alleged in the report went.

“Secondly is the role of the press. Who was it that informed the press, was there a concerted effort to subvert what the press reported and why did certain parts of the press swallow it?”

Mrs Williams, 59, is also challenging the official ruling that those who died were dead or brain-dead by 3.15pm after suffering “traumatic asphyxia”.

Her solicitors will submit evidence to the Attorney General – the government chief lawman – within days, seeking to prove that her son was still alive at 4pm.

Documents released in last week’s disclosure of 400,000 documents have “heavily strengthened” her case, with the 3.15pm cut-off now discredited.

Some 41 of the 96 fans who died could potentially have been saved had the emergency services reacted in time, the panel suggested.

Mrs Williams, who is submitting for a fresh inquest for the fourth time, said: “In the past, even though the evidence was strong, we were against the legal system. My solicitors told me that I would never win a new inquest because we were fighting the establishment.

“Each time I’ve called for a new inquest in the past, I’ve done it not expecting to get very far. This time, I can’t see how it can be refused.”