Hillsborough chief admits ‘flawed operational order’

Hillsborough police chief David Duckenfield has told the jury into the inquests of 96 Liverpool fans he was “a new and inexperienced match commander” faced with “unimaginably difficult and fast-moving circumstances”.

He added he was working to “a flawed operational [match] order” and had “not envisaged or wished for death or injury to a single football supporter” in the central pens of the Leppings Lane terrace at the fateful FA Cup semi-final on April 15, 1989 — Britain’s worst sporting disaster.

On Tuesday, Duckenfield, 70, agreed his failure to close the tunnel leading to certain pens was the “direct cause” of the tragedy after he had just ordered the opening of an exit gate at the ground to relieve congestion at the Leppings Lane turnstiles.