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Hillsborough families have called for a former police chief to be stripped of his knighthood after a report into the disaster found 12 officers must answer for gross misconduct.
ninety seven liverpool were fans Killed in the 1989 FA Cup semi-finalWhen police opened an exit gate to ease the crowd outside the ground and failed to move supporters away from the tunnel leading to the central pen.
In a report published on Tuesday on the role of police in the disaster, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (iopc) Upheld or found cases to answer for misconduct in 92 complaints.
However, laws existing at that time This means that no officer will face disciplinary proceedings as they all retired before the investigation began.
talking to IndependentCharlotte Hennessy, who was six when her father James died at Hillsborough, said of the report: “It’s bittersweet, it confirms what we’ve always said, so it confirms why we need to push things like fresh inquests and why we can’t let our loved ones be buried in lies.
“It’s also disappointing that no one will ever be held accountable. We knew that from the beginning, we were very realistic about this.”
The IOPC report said that had the twelve police officers still been in service they would have had to answer for gross misconduct in relation to the disaster and its aftermath. Now the law has been changed so that disciplinary action can be taken against retired officers.
Had he still been serving he would have had cases to answer for gross misconduct, among them the then Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police (SYP). peter wright and match commander david duckenfieldAlso Sir Norman Bettison, who later became Chief Constable of Merseyside Police.
Mr Duckenfield, the chief superintendent at the time, was cleared of manslaughter by gross negligence by a jury in 2019. The IOPC report said he “fell into trouble” and found he had a case to answer for gross misconduct in relation to 10 charges, including failing to answer and failing to tell FA officials that fans had forced entry.
Mr. Wright, who died in 2011, would have had a case to answer for gross misconduct if he were still serving time in an effort to reduce his guilty plea. shift blame for disaster To and from SYP liverpool supporters, the report said.
The families said they had emailed the confiscation committee asking for Sir Norman to be stripped of his knighthood and Queen’s Police medals. Ian Byrne, MP for Liverpool West Derby, has written to the Cabinet Office and put forward an early day proposal for the same thing.
The IOPC said Sir Norman would have a case to answer in relation to allegations that he deliberately dishonestly and misled the public in press statements about his involvement in the disaster when applying for the job of Chief Constable in Merseyside.
The retired chief, who also led West Yorkshire Police, was charged with misconduct in a public office as part of the investigation, but the case was dropped in 2018.
Ms Hennessy said: “We believe his alleged dishonesty brings both of these honors into disrepute.”
The new report reinforces the findings of the Hillsborough Independent Panel Report published in 2012, which concluded that no liverpool The fans were in some way responsible for this disaster and the main reason for this was the lack of police control.
It also supported the Goldring Inquiry, which determined in 2016 that all those who died were unlawfully killed.
It also found that SYP “fundamentally failed” in its planning for the match, its response to the disaster as it unfolded, and its handling of traumatized supporters and families searching for their loved ones.
It found evidence of a defensive approach adopted by the SYP to the investigation and inquiry, as it attempted to avoid blame. This included allegations about the behavior of supporters, which have been repeatedly denied.
At a press conference with other family members, Ms Hennessy said: “Nobody will have to go to prison for his murder, so we will never get justice – and we knew it.”
He added: “We will never really know the full extent of the deception of the South Yorkshire police force, but there is no covering up, no destroying, and no way of hiding that they failed in their duties and then they tried to blame the victims.”
The IOPC said its investigation also found that 327 statements from officers had been amended, more than 100 from those previously exposed, as part of a defensive approach adopted by the SYP to control evidence handed to the public Taylor Inquiry and West Midlands Police, who investigated the disaster.
The report also found that two West Midlands officers, who led the investigation into the disaster, would have a case to answer for gross misconduct after failing to conduct a rigorous investigation because they were “biased towards the force and towards supporters”.
According to the report, Mervyn Jones, who was assistant chief constable, and then Detective Chief Superintendent Michael Foster were referred to the CPS for their failings, but the threshold for prosecution was not met.
Regarding the report, IOPC Deputy Director General Kathy Cashel said: “The 97 people who were unlawfully killed, their families, the survivors of the disaster and all those who were deeply affected have been repeatedly let down before, during and after the horrific events of that day.
“First the gross complacency of South Yorkshire Police in the run-up to the match, then its fundamental failure to contain the disaster as it unfolded, and then the force’s concerted efforts to shift the blame to Liverpool supporters, caused enormous distress to bereaved families and survivors for almost four decades.
“They were again disappointed by the inexplicably narrow investigation of the disaster conducted by West Midlands Police, which missed an opportunity to bring these failings to light much sooner.
“What they have had to endure for more than 36 years is a source of national shame.”
The families also hit back at the South Yorkshire Police Federation’s claim that the report into the disaster was a “waste of taxpayers’ time and money”. The federation said it was not fair or balanced, adding: “Former police officers – some of whom are very elderly and some of whom have sadly passed away – have had no due process or ability to formally respond to the allegations made in this report.”
Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died in the FA Cup semi-final, responded: “It’s going to change things for other people. It will do nothing for Hillsborough families.
“We know it, we accept it, we understand it. But what we’re campaigning for is changing things for the good of the country, and for me that’s what it’s all about.”
he told Independent The IOPC’s findings were further evidence of the need for changes to the law. Public Offices (Accountability) Bill, known as the Hillsborough LawWill force public officials to tell the truth after disasters. This bill had its second reading in Parliament last month.