Hillsborough inquest set for March
The fresh inquest into the deaths of the 96 supporters who lost their lives at the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 has been given a prospective start date of Monday, March 31, 2014.
No location for the new investigation - ordered following the quashing of the original verdicts of accidental death last December - has been found but the coroner is 'confident' a satisfactory venue will be sourced.
The announcements were made by the coroner, Lord Justice Goldring, at a second preliminary hearing in London on Wednesday to explain the scope and details of the new inquest process.
"I am confident that we shall locate a satisfactory venue, and that will not be a reason not to begin on that date," he said, before confirming that a third hearing will take place in October.
Earlier in the day it had been agreed that the new inquest will be heard before a jury. "There plainly ought to be a jury," added the coroner, who cited the European Human Rights act in his decision.
At the Principal Registry of the Family Division, Lord Goldring also revealed that an overview report on the inquests will be completed and disclosed in September - individual reports on each of the 96 will then be produced.
Lord Goldring concluded the hearing on Wednesday afternoon by pledging to advise on any remaining outstanding issues - including a decision on the inquest venue - at the earliest possible time.