Hillsborough report means Liverpool fans' calls of 'Justice for the 96' have finally been answered Before some of the victims had even been identified, time and energy, which should have focused on comfort and communal grief, had to be compromised for anger, confusion and retribution as the shifting of blame onto the deceased instantly began. The lingering, inferno of injustice often seemed inextinguishable, particularly when successive governments, eager for the campaign to wither away amid insensitive hints about 'moving on', suggested every legal channel had been explored. The families were denied their right to move on because they could not comprehend and accept how those lost were being abused even in death by the combined force of police and misinformed government and media, stigmatising innocent victims on behalf of what amounted to a protection racket helping callous senior policemen and the inadequate response of emergency services. Not through choice but in necessity the families stood firm, steadfast in their assertion their loved ones did not just die; they were killed. The Independent Panel has not only published fresh evidence to support this, but revealed how those responsible enjoyed unprecedented assistance by a system of governance that kept the most unpalatable and incriminating facts hidden. It was established within a year of Hillsborough by Lord Justice Taylor that 96 people died at a football match because of the fateful actions of South Yorkshire police. The absence of a coroner's report applying a verdict compatible with this assertion, or the experiences of all those who witnessed and survived Leppings Lane, is as incomprehensible and reprehensible as the actions on that initial April day. When the coroner, Stefan Popper, decided the deaths were accidental 90 days after April 15 - on the grounds of what we can now see was tainted and doctored evidence - his judgement became emblematic of the most insidious representation of the second, institutional disaster; of the deceptions, the cover-ups, the lies and the closeted public 'servants' who idly kept their distance and shuffled off to their comfortable retirement as peers of the realm when they knew justice had not been done. As a football club, Liverpool has irreversibly changed as a result of Hillsborough. Its supporters have become more politicised in the years since, initially as a necessary response to the disaster as the Hillsborough Family Support Group and then Hillsborough Justice Campaign formed to ensure their cause was part of the fabric of the club and broader community. We have witnessed a similar culture of mobilisation to rally around numerous other causes in more recent times, often giving the impression of an institution willing to perceive itself as under constant siege. If Hillsborough did not necessarily provoke such a mentality - Liverpool has always been a city with a rich history of political struggle - it certainly established it and passed it on to a new generation of supporters. Those with a natural mistrust of government - particularly the Conservative leadership of the 1980s - can always point towards events in Sheffield as proof there was a systematic attempt to smear the entire city and its inhabitants as uncouth agitators, football hooligans guilty of self-inflicted torment. This was the grand lie allowed to breach the consciousness of those either too ignorant, stupid or deplorable to consider otherwise. The sense of distrust of authority has therefore quite understandably intensified in the last 23 years, creating a vicious circle whereby those who do not understand the legacy of Hillsborough perceive the people of Liverpool as too self-pitying, morbid and willing to react with indecent haste to the merest slight. The reality is such reactions have developed as a defence mechanism since Hillsborough, when those extreme feelings of betrayal, paranoia and abandonment by an seemingly uncaring nation became entrenched. The legacy of the disaster not only penetrates the consciousness of every supporter but each corner of Liverpool's stadium. Walk down Anfield Road every match day and, as you approach The Shankly Gates, a gathering of fans form a permanent semi-circle, staring silently at the 96 names engraved on the Hillsborough memorial. By the opposing Paisley Gates, the sentiment is not one of sorrowful commemoration but of anger. Here reside the headquarters of the HJC, the yellow stickers they distribute each match day are worn with as much pride and sense of identity as the Liver Bird on the chest of the players. Since the formation of the HFSG in 1989, the campaigners include individuals with such courage, integrity and dignity in the face of intolerable cruelty, it is impossible not to spend a few minutes in their company without welling up in admiration and feeling less of yourself for not doing more. The chant of 'justice' has been heard on The Kop for 20 years. It has carried a broad meaning during that period, applied to campaigns for a new inquest, private prosecutions against South Yorkshire Police, and latterly for the forensic examination of the duplicitous relationships between those who sought an escape from culpability by blaming the supporters. The cry of 'Justice for the 96' has been sung with the venom you'd associate with the issue of an unconditional demand. When it is next chanted, it can be done so as a statement of fact, as an observation of the most important victory anyone associated with Liverpool has ever won, and yet one which requires solemn gratitude rather than celebration. It is too soon to say the journey has ended, but the healing process has certainly received its most significant aid in today's report. The families still want the coroner's verdict of accidental death overturned and it's inconceivable given today's events that that will not be the recommendation of the Attorney General. Closure is the prerogative of the bereaved and the survivors. Even when the original verdict is overturned, it is doubtful all of them will feel their campaign will ever be over. The reminders must remain potent to prevent it ever happening again. The flame at Anfield's memorial will never be extinguished. Every football supporter who visits the stadium should stop, pause and say a quiet prayer, knowing but for the relative talent of their favourite team in 1989, and the "luck" of the draw, it could have been their club, their son, daughter or parent. Today, the first time in 23 years, the names on the shrine are recognised by the whole country as what they have always been - the innocent victims of English football's worst disasters.