By Eugene Henderson
Sunday Express
LIVERPOOL, England — The only paramedic to reach dying Liverpool fans has revealed how those behind the Hillsborough cover-up “got to him” within hours of the disaster.
Tony Edwards reached the Leppings Lane end of the ground and saw how supporters could have been saved. Liverpool-born Tony said: “What I’ve been saying all these years is finally being accepted as the truth.”
When he arrived at the ground to deal with a reported death, a policeman said he could not go on to the pitch because fans were fighting.
He ignored this and was met by “a sea of people”. He said: “We were never given the chance. There were 44 ambulances waiting outside the stadium, that’s 80-odd staff that could have been inside the ground but they weren’t allowed in. There was no fighting.
“Can you imagine a rail accident where all the ambulances wait on the embankment while the survivors bring the casualties up?” Within hours, moves to blacken the name of the dead fans were under way. Tony said: “Straight away I was cautioned about what I should say and told that because I was from Liverpool I was too emotionally involved.”
In 1995 the pressure got to Tony and he quit his job. “I blamed myself so much and still do,” he said. He now lives with his partner and two children on the island of Bute.
Copyright 2012 Express Newspapers
All Rights Reserved