Hillsborough police may face criminal charges

THE biggest ever inquiry of its kind, into police actions in the UK, is to be launched in the wake of the damning Hillsborough disaster report.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said a large number of serving and former officers will be investigated over the alleged cover up in the aftermath of the tragedy in 1989, and into their actions on the day. 

Norman Bettison in 2007.
Pic by Stephanie De LengFormer Merseyside Police chief Norman Bettison, who last week announced he will retire as West Yorkshire Police chief constable in March, has already been referred to the watchdog over allegations that he provided misleading information after the tragedy, along with his former employers South Yorkshire Police.

But today the deputy chair of the IPCC, Deborah Glass, revealed that he is also under investigation for allegations that he "attempted to influence the decision-making process of the West Yorkshire Police Authority in connection with the referral that they had made".

'Criminal'

Meanwhile, the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, said he will look at whether any individual or corporate body should be charged over the 1989 football stadium disaster, which left 96 people dead.

Ms Glass said; "without a shadow of a doubt" it will be the biggest ever investigation carried out into police behaviour in the UK.

She added: "The potential criminal and misconduct offences disclosed by the panel's report fall into two broad categories.

"They are the allegations that go to the heart of what happened at Hillsborough in April 1989 and individuals and institutions may be culpable for the deaths, and there are allegations about what happened after the disaster, that evidence was fabricated and misinformation was spread in an attempt to shift blame.

"We will investigate the role of South Yorkshire Police and West Midlands Police in these matters. This will mean that a large number of current and former officers will be under investigation, including Sir Norman Bettison, whose conduct was referred by the West Yorkshire Police Authority."

Deborah GlassFollowing the publication of the report, a complaint was made to the IPCC that Sir Norman, who was a chief inspector in South Yorkshire at the time, had supplied misleading information in the wake of the disaster.

A second element of the complaint was over comments made by Bettison, after the report was published. He said that Liverpool fans' behaviour made policing the tragedy "harder than it needed to be", sparking calls for him to resign.

Last moth's report, by the Hillsborough Independent Panel, alleged that 164 police statements were altered following the tragedy, 116 of them to remove or change negative comments about the policing of the match and the ensuing disaster.

The IPPC said: “We do not underestimate the size of our task."