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Jill's
death was "accidental" according to inquest
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On 22 August 95, at the end of a 5 day hearing into Jill Phipps
death, an inquest jury in Coventry returned a verdict of accidental
death.
They ruled that neither the driver, Stephen Yates, or the police
were to blame for the tragedy.
Jill
Phipps brother Zab commented to the press afterwards, "The
verdict reached did not bring out the gross inefficiences of police
on that day. Anyone, trained or un-trained, could have got that
lorry through the gates without running anyone over. From the family`s
point of view we have heard a week of the most terrific cock-ups.
The police stated that their actions had been planned by a specialist
tactician, and that the day had been very successful." And
Jill's father Bob said, "It was a buck-passing operation as
far as i'm concerned. There was a whole catalogue of mistakes all
along."
During
the inquest, an officer at the scene on the day told how he watched
as Jill positioned herself under the wheel of the lorry and suggested
that she did so because she wanted to die for the cause!* Pam Brown,
a fellow protester and close friend of Jill's told the inquest this
was definately not the case. "No way, that's complete rubbish,
Jill had everything to live for. She had just got a new house, she
had her 10 year old son Luke - everything. There was no way either
of us would have endangered our lives. I honestly think that the
police lost control of the situation."
*
Anyone who knew Jill will know that this is an utter and despicable
lie. Jill didn't want to die ... far from it, she wanted to enjoy
life with her partner and son, to take her dog for walks, to go
to festivals ... all the things that made her so happy in life.
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