Hillsborough and cover-ups

18 September 2012

Following the Hillsborough Independent Panel Report this week, Garden Court North Chambers’ Mark George QC has written for Justice Gap drawing links with the same South Yorkshire Police’s standoff with the Orgreave miners back in 1984. He comments on the continuing problems of holding the police to account on the disclosure of unused evidence and that Justice and Security Bill could well bring further cover ups and miscarriages of justice.

Extracts from the article:

“As people digest the report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel it should come as no surprise that it is the South Yorkshire Police who are embroiled in a disgraceful attempt to blame the victims and thereby disguise their own thoroughly despicable conduct. After all this force had some very good training in such tactics…”

“One serious danger in all this is that it will probably not be very long before people in authority start saying that this was all a very long time ago and things were different then and of course nothing like this could happen again. Don™’t believe it! It still happens…”

“If Cameron really is determined to avoid such dreadful events in future he should start by withdrawing the [Justice and] Security bill. After all, we do still live in a democracy and one of the entitlements we have is to know when our government’s agencies, which apparently exist for our protection, have behaved unlawfully, and never more so is this a vital right than when members of the public come into conflict with the agencies of the state.”

Mark George QC is a barrister and Head of Chambers at Garden Court North Chambers.