Bishop to look at fatal incident which fatally injured Keighley man (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Bishop to look at fatal incident which fatally injured Keighley man

5:00pm Wednesday 16th December 2009 in

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The father of a Hillsborough victim who made legal history when he was allowed to die with dignity has welcomed a new probe into the disaster.

Allan Bland, whose 18-year-old son Tony was fatally injured in the crush of football fans, hopes it will bring out new information about what happened on April 15, 1989, at the beginning of the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at the Sheffield Wednesday ground.

The Bishop of Liverpool has been appointed as the chairman of a panel which will oversee the release of thousands of documents relating to the tragedy.

The Right Reverend James Jones will appoint the other members of the Hillsborough Independent Panel, which will meet in Liverpool in the New Year.

The Hillsborough Family Support Group has been pressing for another investigation into how the 96 fans came to die.

Liverpool supporter Tony, of Keighley, was crushed in the crowd but it took four years and a history-making legal decision in the High Court before he, by then 22, was allowed to die with dignity when his breathing tube was switched off at Airedale General Hospital, Steeton.

His father Allan said yesterday: “We are interested in the outcome of this new inquiry because the police do have some questions to answer.”

Earlier this year the Government announced that thousands of documents held by the police, the Government and other agencies would be made public following claims some crucial information had never been released – something which has been denied by South Yorkshire Police.

Mr Bland said although he and his wife Barbara were not active members of the support group they were kept informed of what was happening.

Because of Tony’s condition, they had also been involved in right-to-die issues.

Mr Bland said: “It’s interesting that when we fought for the right to die for Tony we were told it would open the floodgates – but it hasn’t, there have only been 18 similar deaths.”

Support group chairman Margaret Aspinall said members saw the appointment of the Bishop “as a definite step forward in this lengthy process.”

The Bishop said: “The fact that 30,000 people came to Anfield for the Hillsborough 20th anniversary service shows how deep the wound is still, and how great the longing is for healing.”

The Home Secretary Alan Johnson met family representatives in July to assure them papers would begin to be released as soon as possible. He said the families have been consulted throughout the process of establishing the panel and in appointing the chairman.