Jenni and Trevor Hicks are fighting to correct the record surrounding the manner in which their daughters died at Hillsborough
Sarah and Victoria Hicks together at school
Sarah and Victoria Hicks together at school
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The parents of two teenage sisters unlawfully killed at Hillsborough have told South Yorkshire Police bosses that "actions speak louder than words". Jenni and Trevor Hicks, whose teenage daughters Sarah and Victoria were among the 97 Liverpool supporters unlawfully killed at the disaster in 1989, are seeking formal recognition that their daughters did not lose consciousness within 30 seconds and die shortly thereafter, as South Yorkshire Police claimed for years, but that they actually suffered for significantly longer.
The "30-second rule" was relied upon in civil litigations following Hillsborough to argue that victims lost consciousness almost immediately and therefore didn't suffer. But overwhelming evidence from subsequent investigations, including a second set of inquests following the Hillsborough Independent Panel, found many victims were conscious at least half an hour later.
The record can be corrected if South Yorkshire Police, the heavily-criticised force who fed a false narrative to the media in a bid to cover up its own mistakes, agree to a fresh hearing and read a revised statement in open court.
The force's Chief Constable Lauren Poultney said: "Under my leadership, South Yorkshire Police will take the steps available to us to support the families in achieving a sense of justice." She added: "I recognise that the lack of an available route to challenge findings has compounded distress."
But Jenni and former husband Trevor have claimed the force has so far refused to agree to the hearing. Speaking to the ECHO from London, where the parents are launching their campaign at a parliamentary event, Trevor said: "Actions speak louder than words."
Trevor Hicks arriving at Preston Crown court in Lancashire, to give evidence in the trial of Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield
Trevor Hicks(Image: Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)
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He told the ECHO today, Monday: "It's very difficult to change law records as it stands. One way to correct the record is a statement from South Yorkshire Police in open court. That can set the record straight. It is as simple as standing in open court and reading a statement.
"We don't understand it. We are asking them to do the right thing. The chief constable is not guilty for what happened then but they are responsible for the force and the public perceptions of the force now."
Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC and Nia Williams, counsel and solicitor for Jenni Hicks and Trevor Hicks, said: "Contrary to the impression given by South Yorkshire Police’s statement, there is a simple and straightforward route available to correct the factual findings made in by the courts decades ago: a statement in open court, by consent between the parties.
"The key reason that this route is not currently available to Jenni and Trevor is, regrettably, because South Yorkshire Police will not agree to it. Without their consent, the route is blocked, compounding Jenni and Trevor’s distress, and prolonging their fight for justice for their daughters and for everyone who died as a result of the Hillsborough disaster."
Undated handout file photos of Sarah Hicks, 19 (right), and her younger sister Victoria, 15, who were killed in the Hillsborough disaster.
Undated handout file photos of Sarah Hicks, 19 (right), and her younger sister Victoria, 15, who were killed in the Hillsborough disaster.
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Jenni and Trevor's campaign urges the justice system, courts and politicians to consider what can be done to correct inaccurate court records. The parents brought a civil test case against the force in the early 1990s for the pain and suffering their daughters endured. But the case was dismissed at every level on the basis that the girls were assumed to have lost consciousness almost immediately.
The court information said Sarah, 19, and Victoria, 15, had experienced "swift and sudden [deaths] as shown by the medical evidence". That still stands as public record - but medical and expert evidence has since demonstrated this to be false.
Multiple witnesses reported that Victoria, the only female child victim of the crush, was crying and in distress for some time, while Sarah was described as intensively panicked about the fate of her sister. It is now known that Victoria and Sarah may have survived until 3.45pm and 3.39pm respectively – an hour after the fatal crush started.
Trevor told the ECHO: "It's obviously not easy for us to know that they didn't die straight away with the minimum pain, but it's important that the record is changed for us and for other people." Trevor and Jenni now want a "Hicks' Rule" introduced so people in similar circumstances can easily correct the legal record where necessary.
Jenni Hicks arriving at Preston Crown court in Lancashire, for the trial of Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield
Jenni Hicks(Image: Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)
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Trevor said: "The injustice here is not abstract. Because the courts accepted the police version of events, we were told our daughters didn’t suffer. We were told the law could do nothing more for them. That was wrong then, and it’s wrong now."
Jenni added: "For more than three decades, the law has recorded something about our daughters that we now know simply isn’t true. This isn’t about compensation. It’s about truth. It’s about dignity. And it’s about acknowledging what Sarah and Vicki - and so many others - went through that devastating day."
Ms Gallagher said: "This is about whether the legal system has the courage and the mechanisms to correct itself when later evidence proves earlier assumptions to be false. The findings of the Hillsborough Independent Panel and the fresh inquests are unequivocal.
This was not a 'swift and sudden death' for Sarah and Victoria - far from it. For an agonising hour they suffered prolonged pain and suffering. And yet the formal legal record remains unchanged. That cannot be right and we are determined to set the record straight. I believe a Hicks' Rule laid down in law will make it easier for families facing similar battles in future."
Hillsborough justice campaigners, Trevor and Jenni Hicks, when they returned together for the first time to the stadium where their daughters died.
Hillsborough justice campaigners, Trevor and Jenni Hicks, when they returned together for the first time to the stadium where their daughters died.
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Ms Williams, partner at Saunders Law, which represented more than 600 claimants in a group litigation against South Yorkshire Police, added: "Jenni and Trevor have been forced to hear how their daughters were crushed and suffocated, and to relive that horror every day since. And yet South Yorkshire Police refuses to help get the record corrected. With a Hicks’ Rule, we will get final justice for Jenni and Trevor, and for all the victims of Hillsborough."
The Hicks family are not prescribing a single route for correction, but say parliament, the courts and the justice system as a whole must now engage with how historic legal findings can be amended where they no longer reflect the truth.
South Yorkshire Police's chief constable's full statement said: "It is a source of tremendous regret that the serious errors and mistakes of South Yorkshire Police led to lives being lost and also enormous pain, suffering and distress to both the individuals who lost their lives at Hillsborough, but also to their family and friends.
"Under my leadership, South Yorkshire Police will take the steps available to us to support the families in achieving a sense of justice. I acknowledge the huge distress that must have been caused to Mr and Mrs Hicks and others by the court’s findings in 1991 and further to that, I recognise that the lack of an available route to challenge findings has compounded distress. I wish Mr and Mrs Hicks the best for the parliamentary event."