Hillsborough inquests: New probe into fans' deaths

New inquests into the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans are expected to last up to a year.

Fresh inquests are to begin in Warrington later into the deaths of 96 football fans who lost their lives in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

The inquests were ordered in December 2012 when the High Court quashed the original accidental death verdicts that had stood for more than 20 years.

It came after new evidence was revealed by the Hillsborough Independent Panel about Liverpool FC's FA Cup semi-final where the men, women and children died.

The inquests are set to last a year.

All the victims were Liverpool supporters watching their team play Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday's ground.

The inquests, being heard by a jury, are being held in a purpose-built courtroom, the biggest in England and Wales, in an office building in Birchwood Park, in Warrington.

Unseen footage

Proceedings will begin with the selection of 11 jurors who are expected be sworn in on Tuesday.

Lord Justice Goldring, a Court of Appeal judge who is acting as coroner for the hearings, will open the hearing with a statement to the court.

Families of the victims will be invited to read out "background statements" - or what they are calling "pen portraits" - of their loved ones.

The hearing will then break for several weeks for lawyers to consider new pathological evidence into how each of the 96 died.

Over the course of the inquests, jurors are expected to hear evidence on themes including stadium safety, emergency planning, crowd management and the response of the emergency services.

The court will also be shown hitherto unseen BBC footage recorded on the day.

There are two separate inquiries running alongside the inquests.

Operation Resolve, led by former Chief Constable of Durham Jon Stoddart, is a criminal investigation into events leading up to the disaster, as well as the disaster itself.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is looking into allegations of police misconduct arising from the aftermath of the tragedy.
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