Hillsborough disaster: Coroner to begin summing up evidence in UK's longest-running inquest

The coroner presiding over the inquests into the 96 Liverpool football fans who died during the Hillsborough disaster is to begin summing up nearly two years after evidence was first heard. Lord Justice Goldring is expected to take around three weeks to sum up all the evidence to the jury heard regarding the deaths of the supporters during the FA Cup semi-final game in 1989.

The fresh inquests into the deaths began on 31 March 2014 and has heard from more than 500 witnesses, including survivors, police officers and those working at the ground on the day, There has been more than 260 days of evidence heard at the specially-built courtroom in Warrington, Cheshire, making the inquest the longest-ever in Britain's legal history.

Follow the summing up, the inquest will then adjourn for a half-term break before reconvening on 22 February, when the jury will be sent out to consider its verdict.

The original inquest conclusion of accidental deaths was quashed following the publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel report in 2012. The report, published after the panel reviewed more than 450,000 pages of documents relating to the disaster, revealed that police and ambulance services altered statements in a bid to pass the blame for what happened onto "drunken Liverpool fans".

Goldring said at the start of the inquest none of the fans will be blamed for the deaths at the conclusion of the latest inquest, which has examined evidence relating to match-day planning, safety procedures inside the stadium and the conduct of police in the wake of the tragedy.