David Duckenfield 'admitted misleading FA officials' over Hillsborough gate

Match commander David Duckenfield denies the gross negligence manslaughter of 95 fans

Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield admitted misleading FA officials when he said a gate had been forced, his retrial heard.

Mr Duckenfield said at a public inquiry led by Justice Taylor after the 1989 FA Cup semi-final that he had not told the truth in the immediate aftermath.

Preston Crown Court was read transcripts from the inquiry.

Mr Duckenfield, 75, denies the gross negligence manslaughter of 95 Liverpool fans.

At the inquiry in May 1989, Mr Duckenfield agreed he had told FA chief executive Graham Kelly that a gate to the ground had been forced when he came to the police control box after the match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest was stopped at 15:06.

The court has heard Mr Duckenfield ordered exit gates to the stadium be opened as crowds built up outside the turnstiles, allowing fans to head through exit gate C and down the tunnel to the central pens where the fatal crush happened.

He told the Taylor Inquiry: "I may have misled Mr Kelly."

The people who lost their lives in the Hillsborough disaster

Mr Duckenfield admitted he had gone to a meeting with club officials in the boardroom of the ground without telling them the truth of what had happened.

Edwin Glasgow QC, representing Sheffield Wednesday at the inquiry, said: "I am not suggesting that you told them a lie, what I am complaining about is that you did not tell them the truth."

Mr Duckenfield replied: "Sir, you are correct."

The jury also heard audio recordings from the inquests into the deaths in 2015.

Mr Duckenfield told the inquests he had not been concerned about taking on the role of match commander when he was promoted just a few weeks before the match on April 15 1989.

He said with hindsight he should have thought about his "limited knowledge" of the role.

The crush on the Leppings Lane terrace led to the deaths of 96 people.

Under the law at the time there can be no prosecution for the death of the 96th victim, Anthony Bland, as he died more than a year and a day after his injuries were caused.

The trial continues.