Liverpool MP slammed the UK police for continuing to attribute the cause of the Hillsborough Disaster to "drunken fans"..

Media outlets including The Athletic, the Liverpool ECHO, and the BBC reported on Saturday that Liverpool MP Ian Byrne, has slammed the UK police for continuing, after all these years, to attribute the cause of the Hillsborough disaster to "drunken fans" and strongly demanded that the police apologize to the families of the 97 victims and to the fans in the local Liverpool community.

According to reports, the police reacted strongly after Prime Minister Andy Burnham suggested that restrictions on alcohol at football matches might be reviewed and relaxed.

A police spokesperson immediately cited alcohol again, attributing it as a cause of the deaths of the 97 fans.

Furthermore, they distorted the facts by claiming that the ban on alcohol in stands and the post-disaster Taylor Report had driven fundamental, positive reforms in British football culture; they argued that the government should not repeat past mistakes by allowing "alcohol-fueled violence" to return to stadiums, lest a similar tragedy occur again.

Unsurprisingly, such rhetoric, blaming those who lost their lives, incensed the victims' families, fans, the Liverpool community, and Byrne himself.

In an open letter to the police, Byrne hit out: "Today, I am writing to the head of the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) to protest their disgraceful conduct, at a time when the Prime Minister is calling for a relaxation of restrictions on alcohol at football matches, the unit has attempted to link alcohol to the Hillsborough disaster."

"Alcohol was not the cause of the Hillsborough disaster. The behaviour of the fans neither triggered nor exacerbated the tragedy. These conclusions stem from official inquests and independent inquiries; they are indisputable facts, not merely one person's opinion."

"It has been 37 years since the event, when will the police finally face the truth and stop spreading and perpetuating the lies and smears fabricated in the wake of the disaster? This behaviour must end now."

As a lifelong Liverpool fan, Byrne, who himself survived the crush in the Leppings Lane end, noted that regulations prohibiting the consumption of alcohol in areas with a view of the pitch had been in place since 1985, four years before the tragedy occurred.

Byrne demanded a "full and unreserved apology" from the police, adding: "Accuracy, care, and respect must be maintained when discussing the history of the Hillsborough disaster. There is no room for distorting the facts, let alone casually invoking this history to support current policy agendas."

About the Hillsborough Disaster

The Hillsborough Disaster was an event that occurred on April 15, 1989.

On that day, Liverpool was playing Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough Stadium, the home ground of Sheffield Wednesday.

Due to structural issues at the stadium and chaotic organization, 5,000 Liverpool fans had not yet entered the ground after the match had already begun. Police officers opened the gates without providing necessary guidance, causing the 5,000 fans to surge toward the same stand on Leppings Lane. The resulting overcrowding led to a severe crush, 96 people lost their lives, and over 200 were injured.

However, due to lies told by officers on duty, malicious reporting by The Sun newspaper, and the government's mishandling of the matter, no one had been held properly accountable for the Hillsborough Disaster for a long time.

On October 17, 2011, the British government announced it would release all top-secret documents regarding the incident and reopen the inquest.

On September 12, 2012, the inquest results were officially released, the truth of the disaster was revealed, and the fans were finally vindicated.

On April 26, 2016, a British High Court jury ruled that the crush was caused by gross negligence on the part of the South Yorkshire Police. Poor organization, management, and control at the scene led to the crowd losing control and crushing one another, resulting in the tragedy, the 96 fans who died were ruled to have been "unlawfully killed."

Among the 96 Liverpool fans who died was the young cousin of the Reds' legendary captain Steven Gerrard. Years later, Gerrard stated in an interview that he would think of his cousin, whose life was cut so short, as a source of motivation every time he took the field.

On July 29, 2021, another fan, Andrew Devine tragically passed away at the age of 55, bringing the total death toll of the Hillsborough Disaster to 97.

According to his family, although he continued to attend matches at Anfield, the home of the Premier League giants, accompanied by relatives after recovering from the severe injuries sustained in the Hillsborough Disaster, he was left completely paralyzed. He became severely disabled, requiring a wheelchair for mobility and constant care from his family for the rest of his life.

In December 2025, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) confirmed that 12 police officers who were on duty during the Hillsborough Disaster, and whose actions led to the deaths of the 97 fans, had been charged by the victims' families with "fundamental and serious dereliction of duty."

Among them, the senior officer facing the most accusations was Peter Wright, the then-Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police, who had already passed away in 2011.

Two other officers facing a large number of charges were Walter Jackson and David Duckenfield, both former senior officers with South Yorkshire Police, who had been responsible for commanding match-day security operations.

Of these, David Duckenfield, who never admitted fault after the incident, consistently shifted blame onto Liverpool fans, and even received an honourable retirement, is still regarded by the victims' families as the primary culprit who bears the greatest criminal responsibility.

Although the UK Parliament passed legislation in 2017 allowing victims' families to bring legal action against the officers on duty during the Hillsborough Disaster, none of the officers faced additional criminal penalties involving imprisonment; by the time culpability was established in 2012, they had all either retired or passed away.

Image source: Internet / Liverpool ECHO