THE SISTER of a Bromsgrove man who died in the Hillsborough tragedy has said the police apology is ‘too little too late’.
Louise Brookes and her family attended the inquest on Tuesday (April 26) where the jury ruled the 96 fans who died at the match were unlawfully killed. This included her 26-year-old brother Andrew, who lived in Bromsgrove and worked in Longbridge and like many had traveled to watch the Liverpool match.
His sister spoke at the inquest, which last nearly 300 days and is the longest one in British history, along side the loved ones of the rest of the 96 victims.
She said: “He didn’t have a vicious bone in his body. The only fighting he ever did was for his life on April 15, 1989.”
As a result of the inquest, as well as the other families of the victims, Louise now has an official time and cause of death.
“He was sport-mad. Football was his life and ultimately his death. He was a good friend and you could trust him with your life.”
Their have now been reports that criminal charges may now be filed after an mention of an alleged cover by police. Allegations have been made of witness intimidation and withholding of information.
“Andrew was brought up to respect the police and my parents always told us that if ever we were in trouble, they were always there to help us. When my brother most needed their help, they literally turned their backs on him,” she added.
Andrew’s parents sadly did not live to see the verdict reached after his mother had a heart attack in 1996 and passed in 2000 from cancer. His father died last year just ten days before the proceedings began after ‘shutting himself away’ .
Louise added: “It makes me so angry that both my parents have gone to their graves without knowing how or why their son had died.
“No parent should ever be denied that right, especially for 25 years.”
South Yorkshire Police have admitted they got the decisions on April 15, 1989, ‘catastrophically wrong’ and ‘failed the victims’ and their families.
They repeated their apology after the inquest and said: “I want to make it absolutely clear that we unequivocally accept the verdict of unlawful killing and the wider findings reached by the jury in the Hillsborough Inquests.”
Police’s chief constable David Crompton has since been suspended and the families are due to meet with barristers to discuss further legal action.
