Late last month an inquest found that the 96 Liverpool fans who died during the 1989 Hillsborough disaster were killed unlawfully.

The judgement brought an end to the 27-year wait for justice endured by the families whose loved one perished during an FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

Nine jurors found that match commander David Duckenfield was “responsible for manslaughter by gross negligence”, and that mistakes made by the South Yorkshire police force during the 15 April match added to the severity of the situation.

Unanimous verdicts were given on all but one of the 14 questions posed by the inquest, while coroner Sir John Goldring accepted a majority decision of seven on whether the fans were unlawfully killed.

Almost three decades of campaigning by loved ones have finally resulted in the exoneration of the behaviour of the Liverpool fans that day.

Labour MP Andy Burnham – who is from Liverpool and has campaigned with the Justice for the 96 group – said the episode was the “greatest miscarriage of justice of our times” and called for full accountability.

“For 27 years this police force has consistently put protecting itself above protecting those hurt by the horrors of Hillsborough. People must now be held to account for their actions and prosecutions must now follow,” said the former health secretary.

The jury concluded that stadium defects contributed to the disaster, and the verdict gave a stark reminder of the state of football stadiums 30 years ago, and the improvements that have been since, with much has been done in the intervening years to improve football ground safety.

Karen Eyre-White, chief executive of the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) – the organisation set up a year after the disaster to monitor stadium safety – highlighted the investment in infrastructure which has been made in the 27 years since to avoid something similar happening again.

“What we’ve seen over the last 27 years is continued investment in infrastructure and an integrated approach to spectator safety. There is much better partnership working between clubs and police and much more involvement from local authorities,” said Eyre-White. “But we can’t be complancent and we have to build on the progress we’ve made and guard against new safety risks such as smoke bombs, flares and drones.”

David Crompton, chief constable of the South Yorkshire police, said the force “unequivocally accepted the verdict” and that the policing at the match was “catastrophically wrong”. Crompton has since been suspended.