Thread by @TonyEvans92a

Ten years ago today there was a brief period of optimism. The findings of the Hillsborough Independent Panel were so comprehensive, so damning of the authorities, it seemed like 23 years of lies had been swept away and justice appeared inevitable

How stupid was I for thinking that? For believing that it was in the public interest for the authorities to be held responsible for catastrophic and deadly errors; that police cover-ups are an obscene insult to the people of this country; that safety at civic events mattered

For a short period, it felt like all the battles and the campaigning were worthwhile. The evidence was SO overwhelming that a Conservative Prime Minister apologised in Parliament. No reasonable person could repeat the slurs that had dogged us for more than two decades

I'm based in London. Quite a few people made a point of seeking me out to apologise for ever believing the lies. That strange concept, closure, appeared to be on the horizon

The inquests gave further indication of the way the mood had changed, I thought. The victims of Hillsborough were unlawfully killed. The legal system had spoken. The next step was holding someone to account

Six years later from that seemingly seminal moment things are worse than ever. The abuse is greater than I've ever seen. Far worse than in the immediate aftermath of 1989, more strident than in the 90s, more hurtful than in the millennium. And it's growing

How the hell did we get here? Well, in 2016, after the inquests, we were told to say nothing in public for fear of jeopardising the criminal trials. Like decent, law-abiding people we obeyed and held our tongues. Guess what, the vacuum was filled by liars and deniers

Any faith in the legal system was then destroyed. Every loophole and ambiguity was exploited to ensure the guilty men walked free from court - even if they had previously admitted culpability at the inquests. Families, survivors and the dead were let down again

But more than that. The failure to apportion responsibility over Hillsborough is a slap in the face of every citizen of the UK. Any time you or someone you love goes to a public event, you need to know the authorities will do their best to protect you

That the police and the emergency services will have plans in place to deal with potential problems and if things go wrong, they will analyse their own performance to see how they can do better next time. Instead of throwing the blame at the victims

I've said this repeatedly but it bears saying again. Hillsborough doesn't affect you? Well, at least two of the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing died because of the same systemic failures that occurred in 1989. Little was learnt in the intervening 28 years

So here we are. There will never be justice. Not in the sense we understand the word. But there is a legacy. Duckenfield, Bettison and the rest got away with it but history will judge them as the worst sort of policemen; vain, selfish and eager to wriggle off the hook

No public servant should ever be able to avoid scrutiny and none should be allowed to conspire to cover up their failures and blame others. That should be one of the foundations of a sane, democratic society. The UK is far from sane

The 10th anniversary of the HIP should have been all over the media today. The death of the queen has been a black hole for news - another sign of how warped society is in the UK. A knock on effect of the monarch's death has been another outburst of Hillsborough abuse

It's a perfect storm of irrationality. The focus will be on Anfield tomorrow and how the crowd reacts to the national anthem and the minute's silence. My view is that Liverpool supporters have heard too many silences disrupted to defile one themselves

And let's get another thing straight: Scousers were booing the national anthem long before Hillsborough - and with just cause. The city has long been pushed to he margins of British life. But tomorrow I hope the anthem is treated with contemptuous indifference

There will be plenty of chances to boo God Save The King in the future. Any disruption tomorrow will give the haters something else to seize upon

Having said that, it doesn't matter what we do. The abuse and othering will continue, even if the entire stadium is silent; even if the Kop blasts out GSTK. The truth is that the ingrained anti-Scouse bigotry (rooted in anti-Irishness) exists without any help from us

For example, at the moment we are witnessing the most maudlin, sentimental and delusional expression of public grief since Diana died. After Hillsborough, the mourning - almost everyone on Merseyside knew someone connected to the disaster - brought out the 'self-pity city' trope

Check out yourselves, Britons. Look at this elongated and exaggerated period of mourning with its slavish adoration of the dead queen. Tell me again who exactly are the 'emotional and sentimental' ones?

This mourning period, and the days after Diana's death, are probably the greatest examples of '[the] mawkish sentimentality of a society that has become hooked on grief.' Go google the quote

There is a time for silence and a time for shouting. I hope and expect Anfield will catch the right tone tomorrow. Don't kid yourself a display of decency will stop the Hillsborough abuse, though