The Taylor Inquiry was promptly set up to investigate the causes of the disaster and to seek to prevent similar events occurring. It was followed by inquests and a criminal investigation.
However, the families of those who died in the disaster, survivors and other campaigners have long maintained that these previous investigations were unsatisfactory and that the truth about what happened that day had not yet emerged. Their campaign led to several appeals, reviews and other judicial processes, including a private prosecution, in which one of the officers on trial for manslaughter and misconduct in public office (Supt Murray) was acquitted and the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the same charges against Ch Supt Duckenfield.
The campaign continued and in 2010 led to the formation of the Hillsborough Independent Panel (HIP), to oversee maximum possible public disclosure of information related to the disaster. In 2012, the HIP published a report to explain how the information that had been disclosed through its work added to public understanding of the tragedy and its aftermath. The HIP Report identified material that had not been considered by previous investigations and inquiries into the disaster. This material raised new questions about how people died, whether the disaster could have been prevented and how the police acted in the aftermath of the disaster.
