Three former senior South Yorkshire Police (SYP)
officers and a solicitor who represented the force have been
charged with criminal offences following the Independent Police
Complaints Commission’s (IPCC) investigation into the aftermath
of the Hillsborough disaster.
The IPCC independent investigation examined an alleged police
‘cover-up’ following the 1989 disaster, in which 96 Liverpool
fans died at the FA Cup Semi Final between Liverpool and
Nottingham Forest at the Hillsborough Stadium in
Sheffield.
Evidence files containing allegations against six suspects from
South Yorkshire Police and two from West Midlands Police (WMP)
were formally referred by the IPCC to the Crown Prosecution
Service (CPS) in January this year.
The CPS announced today (Wednesday 28 June) that it had
authorised charges against the following individuals related to
South Yorkshire Police from the IPCC independent
investigation:
• Sir Norman Bettison, a former chief inspector and
superintendent with SYP and subsequently Chief Constable of
Merseyside and West Yorkshire Police. He is charged with
misconduct in public office related to alleged lies about his
involvement in the aftermath of Hillsborough and the culpability
of Liverpool fans;
• Peter Metcalf, the solicitor acting for SYP in 1989, is charged
with perverting the course of justice. He is alleged to have made
material changes to police officers’ accounts for which there
appears to be no justification;
• Former Chief Superintendent Donald Denton, and former Detective
Chief Inspector Alan Foster are charged with perverting the
course of justice for their involvement in the amendment
process.
The CPS decided there was insufficient evidence to charge two SYP
officers who were also involved in the amendment
process.
The CPS also authorised charges against two individuals
investigated by Operation Resolve, the investigation examining
the causes of the disaster. The IPCC provided oversight of the
part of Operation Resolve which examined the actions of SYP on
the day of the disaster. These individuals are:
• Former Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield, match commander
on the day of the disaster is charged with manslaughter by gross
negligence;
• Sheffield Wednesday Football Club Secretary Graham Mackrell is
charged with contravention of terms of the Safety at Sports
Grounds Act 1975.
Decisions on two WMP suspects referred to the CPS remain under
consideration. At the request of the CPS, further investigative
work has been undertaken and further evidence was submitted last
month so that fully informed decisions could be made by
CPS.
This week the IPCC sent another evidence file to the CPS relating
to a SYP officer and a civilian contracted to work for the force.
This follows an investigation into a complaint received from a
group of Liverpool fans in May 2015. They alleged evidence was
falsified about a police horse being burnt by a cigarette outside
of the stadium.
The CPS has indicated it will announce these remaining charging
decisions together in due course.
IPCC investigations into 170 allegations of misconduct against
police officers both on the day of the disaster and its aftermath
are almost complete. Evidence is now being considered from these
individual investigations and will be detailed in the wider
Hillsborough report covering the IPCC independent investigation
and the investigation into the conduct of SYP officers on the day
of the disaster.
IPCC Deputy Chair Rachel Cerfontyne said: “The CPS has announced
charging decisions on six of the eight suspects formally referred
by the IPCC in January this year. We have also referred a further
two individuals. We will be working closely with the CPS on the
prosecution case and will provide any further assistance
necessary while decisions on the remaining IPCC files are under
consideration.
“Following criminal proceedings, we will consider whether any
former police officers, including all of those referred to the
CPS for a charging decision, would have had cases to answer for
misconduct if they were still serving. The evidence supporting
these findings will be set out in the final investigation
report.”
ENDS
The information the IPCC has provided to the CPS about WMP and
SYP runs to around 60,000 pages and nearly 3,000 documents
respectively.
A detailed overview of the IPCC investigation that was published
in January can be found here.
