On 6 April 1989, Ch Supt Duckenfield signed off the F Division Operational Order. It was very similar in its wording, structure and content to that for the 1988 FA Cup Semi-Final. It was circulated the same day to all officers of the rank of chief inspector and above involved in the operation.
In D Division, PS Jones drew up a draft Operational Order which he gave to Acting Superintendent Steven King. After some minor changes, it was approved and signed by Superintendent Leonard Bates on 10 April 1989, after which it was copied and circulated.
The Traffic Division Operational Order was written by Inspector George Scholey and reviewed by Ch Supt Nesbit, who was head of the Operations and Road Traffic Division, along with Superintendent John Brougham (Supt Brougham), who would be in charge on the day.
When interviewed under caution by WMP in 1990, ACC Jackson said that once the respective divisions had completed their planning for the match, he received copies of each Order for final approval. He said that he was satisfied with the arrangements made, and that if he had not been, he would have rejected them.
This meant each Order was approved without being assessed against the others for any potential contradictions or gaps.
Both Chief Constable Brian Johnson (CC Johnson) of Lancashire Police—the policing assessor for the Taylor Inquiry—and Mr Hopkins suggested that SYP would have been better served by producing a single forcewide Operational Order covering all three divisions. CC Johnson described the F Division Operational Order as “less than adequate and, in some cases, imprecise in much of the information it contained.” He reported that the complementary Orders produced for the day, dealing with traffic and the deployment of officers in other divisions, were “confusing and unco-ordinated.”
In his 1989 account, ACC Jackson explained that for the 1988 FA Cup Semi-Final, SYP had decided to have three separate Operational Orders, so that the divisional commander responsible for Hillsborough Stadium did not have to be responsible for the logistics of directing traffic and escorting supporters to the ground. He suggested that this approach offered flexibility, as police officers concerned in those duties remained available for redeployment in the gymnasium at the ground after they had completed their allocated tasks. It was therefore repeated for the 1989 Semi-Final.
When giving evidence at the Popper Inquests on 5 March 1991, ACC Jackson explained that the Operational Orders were developed following liaison between him, the relevant division and Ch Supt Nesbit. He said this meant it was “inevitable” that when the plan was complete, it would be right. He said that if someone identified a problem during the planning process, they would contact him and discuss the issues.
