Jury to consider whether Duckenfield should have taken over as match commander

The jury in the Hillsborough inquests will consider whether David Duckenfield should have taken over as the match commander before the 1989 disaster.

The court heard that his predecessor believed Mr Duckenfield had wide experience of football, policing grounds including Hillsborough in "huge numbers".

Continuing his summing up, coroner Sir John Goldring said: "You will no doubt consider whether that was a fair representation of the position: whether or not it was sensible for Mr Duckenfield to take over as match commander."

Meanwhile, the jury heard a number of fans and police remembered the tunnel to the central pens being closed at Liverpool's 1988 semi-final but other officers recalled they did not know of the closure.

The court has heard the police's operational order for the 1989 match followed the form and general content of the previous year's plan and did not mention the tactic of closing the tunnel to divert fans away from the central pens.

Sir John said: "The senior officers and the club regarded 1988 as a success. As far as we know, no mention was made in any document of the tunnel having been closed."