The F Division Operational Order included an instruction to move any Liverpool supporters who had tickets for the Spion Kop to their own area of the ground. This was despite the fact that the match was sold out, so the West Terrace would already have been at maximum capacity.
Supt Greenwood has stated that he voiced concerns about this latter issue at the third SYP planning meeting on 10 April 1989. By this time, all the Operational Orders had been approved by ACC Jackson. The meeting was chaired by Ch Supt Duckenfield. Some of the officers in key roles on the day attended, along with representatives from D Division, Road Traffic Division and British Transport Police.
Supt Greenwood was one of the three SYP sector commanders for the match. He was in charge of sector 1, inside the stadium.
In a prepared statement given to WMP in June 1990, at the start of his interview under caution, Supt Greenwood explained that he raised the issue at the meeting “because I was concerned that the Leppings Lane end would become overcrowded if fans in such large numbers were transferred to that end.” He further explained that at the 1981 FA Cup Semi-Final, some supporters who were in the wrong end were transferred to the West Terrace, which resulted in overcrowding and crushing. He said: “When it was suggested at the second meeting that a transfer would again be necessary I raised an objection on the grounds of the 1981 incident.”
He also stated that he made Ch Supt Duckenfield, and everyone else at the meeting, aware of the importance of avoiding overcrowding and crushing on the West Terrace.
At the Goldring Inquests, Ch Supt Duckenfield said he had no recollection of a conversation with Supt Greenwood at the meeting on 10 April 1989 about the risk of overcrowding or crushing on the West Terrace. He was shown the instructions in the Operational Order and his attention was drawn to the fact that this would have resulted in the crowd on the West Terrace being over capacity. He responded that it was a defect in the Order that he had failed to see but reiterated that he had no recollection of the issue being raised at the meeting. Further, he said that at the time of the disaster he did not know about the incident of crushing at the 1981 match, or that SYP had raised concerns about the safety and capacity of the West Terrace following that incident. He said that had he been informed, he would have focused on that and taken the necessary action.
In a statement from 1990, Insp Sewell stated that he could not “…recall any comments being made regarding crushing at any previous Semi Finals or in fact at any match, or any of those present mentioning it.” He added that at no time did Supt Greenwood speak to him regarding difficulties at previous semi-finals.
PS Jones also attended the meeting and said that he recalled Supt Greenwood making a point regarding the movement of supporters within the ground, but he could not be more specific.
Supt Greenwood subsequently instructed the inspectors under his command not to transfer Liverpool supporters from the Spion Kop to the Leppings Lane end, even though he knew this was against the Operational Order.
