Hillsborough inquests - March 11

The Hillsborough inquests commenced on March 31, 2014 and are the subject of reporting restrictions that have been imposed by the Attorney General's office. Liverpool Football Club is respectful of these restrictions and will therefore only be making available updates from other media channels for the duration of the inquest.

The report below - and the witness testimony contained within it - does not necessarily reflect the views of Liverpool FC. Please be aware that the reports on these pages will contain evidence about the day of the disaster which may be distressing.

To view archive reports from each day of the inquest hearings, click here.

Courtesy of the BBC - March 11

The match commander on the day of the Hillsborough disaster has admitted lying about fans forcing an exit gate open to enter the ground.

Relatives of the 96 fans who died gasped as David Duckenfield told the new inquests: "I apologise unreservedly to the families".

He said: "Everybody knew the truth, the fans and police knew the truth that we'd opened the gates."

Mr Duckenfield, 70, said he would regret the lie "to his dying day".

The court heard that on the day of the disaster he told Graham Kelly, of the FA, that fans had got in themselves through gate C, when the truth was that he had ordered the gate to be opened.

Mr Duckenfield was in charge of policing at Sheffield Wednesday's stadium when 96 Liverpool fans were fatally crushed in 1989.

He told the court that he had "no idea" what motivated him to lie.

Earlier, Mr Duckenfield said it was "one of the biggest regrets of his life" that he did not consider the consequences of opening the gate.

The inquests heard he had not been aware that at 14:30, some 5,700 fans were still trying to enter the ground outside the Leppings Lane turnstiles because he did not know the club had a system for monitoring the supporters.

It meant 800 fans would have to go through each turnstile in 30 minutes to get in for kick-off.

Mr Duckenfield said he "accepted" this was "not going to happen".

Mr Duckenfield, stationed in the police control box with a bank of TV monitors of the ground, said he was "shocked" at the request to open the gates from Supt Roger Marshall from outside Leppings Lane after police became "overwhelmed" by the number of fans gathered at the turnstiles.

The witness continued: "Certainly I'm sat there, I don't mind telling you I was shocked and taken aback by it and thinking, 'Where are these people going to go if I open the gates?"'

He said another message then came through on the police radio from Mr Marshall saying: "If we don't open the gates someone's going to get killed."

Mr Duckenfield said: "That really was a shocking, terrifying moment to feel you had got to that situation."

Another officer in the police box, Mr Bernard Murray, then said to him: "Are you going to open the gates?" the jury heard.

Mr Duckenfield said: "I remember saying to him quite clearly, Mr Murray, if people are going to die I have no option but to open the gates. Open the gates."

He said he was left "no option" and thought fans would feel "relief and comfort" in being released from the crush of the turnstiles on to the concourse.

He told the hearing he wasn't aware until after the disaster that the fans going through gate C would have the tunnel in front of them.

He said: "I think it is fair to say it is arguably one of the biggest regrets of my life that I did not foresee where the fans would go when they came in through the gates.

"I think it's fair to say that I was overcome by the enormity of the situation and the decision I had to make and as a result of that, this is probably very hard to admit, as a result of that I was so overcome probably with emotion of us having got into that situation that my mind for a moment went blank."

Mr Duckenfield is being questioned in front of about 200 relatives.

Christina Lambert QC, counsel for the inquests, asked Mr Duckenfield if he "should have taken steps" to delaying the start of the match.

He responded: "I accept that view now ma'am".

Asked what he would have done had he known there were so many supporters waiting to enter, he replied: "I would have informed the club. I would have informed the referee that we had a difficulty arising and that on the evidence we had available, we should consider delaying the kick-off."

On the day of the match, police could only judge how full the pens in the terraces were by looking at CCTV and the terraces.

There were counters on the banks of turnstiles but these did not record how many people were going into each pen.

Earlier, Mr Duckenfield also told the jury he could not account for his movements for a period of more than two hours before he took up his position in the police control box on the afternoon of the semi-final.

He told the inquests his mind was "a complete blank" and he could only remember being "taken out" in a police car by a colleague and "we drove around".

Ms Lambert put it to Mr Duckenfield that this was a "significant period of time" and would have been a "golden opportunity" to get to know the ground better, on what was to be his first match as commander.

Mr Duckenfield agreed that it was, but said he could not recall whether it was an opportunity he had taken.

Ms Lambert also said it would have been a good opportunity for Mr Duckenfield to survey the turnstiles at the Leppings Lane end.

Again, Mr Duckenfield agreed.

He accepted it was "part of his job as a match commander to have a basic knowledge of the layout of the stadium".

Earlier the retired officer said he had urged police to ensure both sets of fans had "a good day out."

He wrote a briefing document for officers before the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, the jury was told.

In the note he said: "I cannot stress too highly the word safety. The ground will be full to capacity".

He recalled telling officers that "...it was supposed to be a wonderful occasion for both the Liverpool and Notts fans. They were to come along and enjoy themselves, and we, the police service, were to ensure that they had a good day out.

"We were to be tolerant, understanding of their enthusiasm, treat them with respect, and put ourselves forward as a professional and caring organisation".

The inquests continue.