Father of killed Hatch End sisters leads call for new Hillsborough inquests (From Harrow Times)

Father of killed Hatch End sisters, Trevor Hicks, leads call for new Hillsborough inquests

1:30pm Monday 17th September 2012 in News By David Hardiman, Reporter

A Hillsborough campaigner whose two daughters from Hatch End were killed in the disaster has announced that families of those killed will seek new inquests.

Trevor Hicks, of the Hillsborough Families Support Group, said that the relatives of 96 who died in the 1989 tragedy in Sheffield believed wrongdoing had been done following the release of an independent report last week which showed police tried to blame fans for the fatal crush.

Mr Hicks, whose daughters Sarah, 19, and Victoria, 15, were among those who died in the stadium on April 15, 1989, met with lawyers yesterday to discuss the implications of the report.

He said: “This goes beyond Hillsborough. What happened on Wednesday was a disgrace to the nation, not just the families. This goes across society.

“The findings of the Hillsborough Independent Panel have finally vindicated the families in their 23-year struggle to establish the truth.

“However, after truth must come justice. We have spoken today to our lawyers and taken initial advice.

“We will be petitioning the Government, the Attorney General, and the Director of Public Prosecutions on all these various matters.”

A damning independent report into the disaster released on Wednesday found that there was a failure by authorities to protect people, revealed that police and the ambulance service tried to cover up their shortcomings and decided “conclusively” that fans did not cause or contribute to the deaths.

It also showed the lives of 41 people could possible have been saved if the response of the emergency services had been swifter.

Mr Hicks, 65, has campaigned for justice for since 1989 on behalf of those who died in the crush in the Leppings Lane Terrace at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

He added that any wrongdoing, criminal or civil, should be investigated and wants the Attorney General to apply for new inquests, prosecutions for those criminally responsible and civil proceedings to be reopened.

Mr Hicks lived in both Rayners Lane and Hatch End, but moved to Yorkshire in 1990 to work as managing director of an engineering and wholesale distribution business.

His daughter Sarah was a student at Liverpool University, and her sister, Victoria, was a pupil at Haberdashers' Aske's Girls' School in Elstree.