Willie and Derek Duncan recall the UK’s worst football disaster 20 years on from the horrific events of Hillsborough, and outline a fight for justice and truth that goes on to this day.

Hillsborough. The very name is enough to chill the blood of those who remember the tragic events that unfolded in the now infamous sporting arena. It was, and still is, the worst stadium related disaster in the history of British football. On April 15th, 1989, fans of Nottingham Forest and Liverpool descended on Sheffield anticipating what was to be an exciting and entertaining match between two of the top sides in the country. Tragically, the day would live long in the memory for all the wrong reasons.

At 3.06, just 6 minutes after the scheduled kick-off time, the match was abandoned. However, for 96 fans, all supporters of Liverpool, the abandonment was simply too late. Their deaths, the result of a human crush, sent shockwaves that were felt around the world and felt by those both inside and outside of football. The disaster changed the face of modern football stadia and the Taylor Report, which I will return to later, recommended the implementation of all-seater football stadiums in the UK and the removal of barriers at the front of the stands.

Before looking in more depth at the Taylor Report, it is important to examine what happened on the day itself and how these events culminated in 96 tragic deaths. As is always the case in modern football, Hillsborough Stadium employed a segregation policy and Liverpool fans were allocated the Leppings Lane end. At around 2.30pm, a problem was beginning to develop outside of the stadium. Thousands of Liverpool fans, congregated outside of the stadium all desperate to get into the stadium and take their place in the stadium ahead of the kick-off. Quickly, a bottleneck developed as more and more fans arrived and, to make matters worse, those who, for a number of reasons, were refused entry were unable to leave the area due to the crowds.

In an attempt to alleviate the problem, the police opened a side gate - which was not intended to be used as an entrance - and this led to supporters rushing through the gate into the stadium. The police believed that by doing this, the possibility of a crush outside the stadium had been averted and that the right decision had been taken. Sadly, in truth, the problem was about to get much, much worse.

Thousands of fans rushed through the side gate; they made their way into 2 central sections of the Leppings Lane end which, unbeknown to the fans, were already overcrowded. At the front of the terracing, fans were crushed against the fencing designed to prevent pitch invasions. Eventually, as fans began to climb the fences and make their way onto the pitch, the match referee, on the advice of police - who initially appeared to believe that a pitch invasion was taking place - abandoned the match. Some fans managed to force open a small gate in the fencing, others were pulled to safety by fans in the West Stand - directly above the Leppings Lane terracing. As chaos ensued, the fencing broke under the sheer force of the fans pushed against it.

As fans spilled onto the pitch, uninjured fans did what they could to help. At this time, police formed a cordon which was designed to prevent Liverpool fans from reaching the Nottingham Forest end of the stadium and, indeed, some fans who tried to break the cordon to lead injured fans to safety were forcibly turned back. Incredibly, by this time, 44 ambulances had reached Hillsborough but all but one was turned away by police.

In the days and months that followed, the inquests and inquiries took place. However, memorably and despicably, the Sun Newspaper - typically - refused to allow the facts of the day get in the way of a good story. Just 4 days after the tragedy, the paper ran what amounted to a shameful smear campaign which accused Liverpool fans of picking the pockets of the dead, abusing and urinating on police officers who were helping victims and even went as far as to suggest that a dead female fan had been "abused". In the fine traditions of the Sun, all of these allegations were attributed to an "unnamed source". To this day, the Sun newspaper is widely boycotted in Liverpool and it is estimated that circulation in the city is currently around 12,000 copies per day - a staggering 200,000 fewer than prior to the disaster. The newspaper finally issued an apology in July 2004 but for many in Liverpool; it was regarded as too little, too late - the Liverpool Echo dismissing the apology as "shabby".

The Taylor Report and other inquests into the Hillsborough disaster have also left a bad taste in the mouth of the relatives of victims. The coroner, Dr Stefan Popper, has claimed that all victims were dead, or at least, brain dead by 3.15pm - just 9 minutes after the abandonment of the match and, so, the main inquest was limited to events before 3.15 - this angered many of the relatives.

Furthermore, the Taylor Inquiry found that the failure of the police to control the crowds was the main cause of the tragedy. It was indicated that the tragedy would have been avoidable had the kick-off been delayed. The suggestion by some in South Yorkshire Police that the drunkenness of Liverpool fans was a mitigating factor and the further claim that the late gathering of fans outside the stadium was an attempt to gain entry to the stadium without a ticket was dismissed by Taylor.

Some fans have brought a private prosecution against the officer in charge on the day, Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield, on the basis that he lied when telling senior FA officials that Liverpool fans had forced the gate open - a claim that he was forced to admit to. The prosecution was dismissed when Duckenfield's doctor said that his client was medically unfit to face prosecution.

Every year, a memorial service is held at Anfield Stadium - home of Liverpool FC. However, 20 years on, the relatives of the families are angry that nobody has been held account for the tragic events which took place on April 15th 1989. For the families, in the form of campaign group the Hillsborough Justice Campaign, the fight goes on for justice.

As of yet, the answers that they seek are not forthcoming. However, the memory of the Hillsborough tragedy should, we can only hope, ensure that the scenes witnessed on that day are never seen again.