By Paul Kelso, Sky News Sports Correspondent
The coroner in the Hillsborough inquests has concluded his opening statement, telling members of the jury they should "inquire fully, fairly and fearlessly" into the causes of the deaths of the 96 Liverpool fans killed in the disaster.
Lord Justice Goldring, sitting in a purpose-built court-room in Warrington, set out a number of issues the jury should consider in a hearing that could take up to a year.
Completing his opening, the coroner addressed the question of whether police statements had been deliberately altered to deflect blame for the disaster on to supporters.
He told the jury that officers from South Yorkshire Police, the force in charge on the day, prepared their own statements in the aftermath of the disaster, and that these were then sent for review by lawyers.
Lord Justice Goldring has told the jury which issues they will consider The coroner said that a large number of amendments were made to those statements, including the removal of comments criticising police leadership on the day.
The jury were told they would have to consider if they were changed to deliberately deflect blame from the police to the fans.
"Why was the amendment made?" the coroner said.
"Was it made innocently and for perfectly understandable reasons? Or was it part of a policy of blaming the fans in order to deflect criticism from the police? Do the amendments throw any light on that crucial question of how those who died came to do so?"
Addressing the issue of the conduct of supporters, the coroner said he did not expect that anyone would suggest the behaviour of the deceased had played any part in their death.
Liverpool fans were allocated the Leppings Lane stand for the game in 1989 "Did the conduct of the fans, or some of them, excluding those who died, did that play any part in the disaster? I phrase it in that way because I do not believe that anyone will suggest that the conduct of those who died in any way contributed to their deaths," he added.
The coroner also referred to the first inquests, which reached verdicts of accidental death in 1991. The findings of those inquest were quashed by the High Court in 2012.
Lord Justice Goldring described how the original "mini-inquests" were brief, few questions were asked of witnesses, and that the families of the dead were not given disclosure of documents.
He also dealt with what he described as the controversial decision by the first coroner to impose a 3.15pm cut-off for the inquest, which meant there was no examination of the emergency service response after that point.
"We, of course, will not follow that course," he said.
Finally, the coroner set out a number of questions the jury may want to consider. These included:
The management of their approach to the turnstiles will be a key issue - Whether the layout of Hillsborough and the Leppings Lane end contributed to the disaster or deaths.
- Were there dangers that should have been appreciated?
- What was done to manage the approach of fans to the turnstiles? Did a crush outside the entrance develop?
- When the exits were opened to relieve any crush, should anything or anything more have been done to avoid the risk of a dangerous situation?
- Were steps taken to control the allocation and level of the crowd in pens three and four, and were steps taken to prevent overcrowding?
- Was system of allowing fans to find their own level satisfactory?
- Did the conduct of the fans, or some of them, excluding those who died, play any part in the disaster?
Evidence will resume on Thursday morning, when family members will begin delivering personal statements about each of the deceased.
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