Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield’s “extraordinarily bad” failure to protect supporters was the substantial cause of 96 Liverpool fans being killed, his trial has heard.
As the prosecution opened its case against him, the jury was told the supporters who died did so during the “wholly innocent activity of attending a football match”.
As the disaster began to unfold, the former South Yorkshire Police Chief Superintendent failed to quickly declare a major incident, which could have enabled emergency services to reach the injured, Preston Crown Court heard.
Mr Duckenfield, 74, denies the gross negligence manslaughter of 95 Liverpool supporters.
The 96th, Tony Bland, is not on the indictment because he died more than a year and a day after the FA Cup semi-final.
There was silence in court as the names of the 95 were read out.
The jury was also shown images from 1989 of the Hillsborough stadium, which was the third largest club stadium in England.
Pictures highlighted the police control box overlooking the Leppings Lane end where Mr Duckenfield was stationed.
24,000 Liverpool fans were directed to this stand for the match against Nottingham Forest.
The arrival of thousands of people shortly before kick-off was “easily identifiable”, it was said.
But as the match commander decided to open an exit gate to alleviate pressure outside he “gave no thought to the inevitable consequence of the flood of people” that were “effectively carried away down the slope of the tunnel” into the “already packed” pens and causing a crush inside, the court was told.
Neither did he postpone kick-off, which the prosecution claim would have avoided any crush at the turnstiles.
These decisions amounted to a “gross breach of his duty of care that he owed to each of the deceased”, the jury heard.
Mr Duckenfield denies the charges against him.
Sheffield Wednesday’s Club Secretary in 1989, Graham Mackrell, is also on trial charged with breaching safety regulations.
It’s claimed an insufficient number of turnstiles were allocated to the Liverpool supporters, which resulted in overcrowding outside the stadium.
The jury was told Mr Mackrell committed a criminal offence by agreeing to admission arrangements that breached the club’s Safety Certificate, “or at the very least turning a ‘blind eye’”.
In doing so, he “effectively shrugged off all responsibility”, the court was told.
The 69-year-old denies the charges. The trial continues.
