The Hillsborough families have called for the removal of a former police chief’s knighthood after a report into the disaster found 12 officers would have had a case to answer for gross misconduct.
Ninety-seven Liverpool fans were killed at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final, when police opened an exit gate to the ground to alleviate crowding outside and failed to direct supporters away from the tunnel leading to the central pens.
In a report on the role of police in the disaster, published on Tuesday, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) upheld or found cases to answer for misconduct in 92 complaints.
However, the law in place at the time means no officers will face disciplinary proceedings because they had all retired before investigations began.
Speaking to The Independent, Charlotte Hennessy, who was six when her dad James died at Hillsborough, said of the report: “It’s bittersweet, it’s confirming what we’ve always said, so it validates why we needed to pursue things like fresh inquests and why we couldn’t let our loved ones be buried in a lie.
“It’s also frustrating that nobody will ever be held accountable. We knew that from the very get-go, we were very realistic about that.”
Twelve police officers would have had a case to answer for gross misconduct in relation to the disaster and its aftermath if they were still serving, the IOPC report said. Legislation has now been changed so that retired officers can be subject to disciplinary proceedings.
Among those who would have had cases to answer for gross misconduct if they were still serving were South Yorkshire Police’s (SYP) then chief constable Peter Wright and match commander David Duckenfield, as well as Sir Norman Bettison, who later became Merseyside Police chief constable.
Mr Duckenfield, a chief superintendent on the day, was cleared of gross negligence manslaughter by a jury in 2019. The IOPC report said he “froze in the crisis” and found he had a case to answer for gross misconduct in respect of 10 allegations, including failing to respond and telling FA officials that fans had forced their way in.
Mr Wright, who died in 2011, would have had a case to answer for gross misconduct, had he still been serving, for his part in attempting to minimise culpability and deflect blame for the disaster away from SYP and towards Liverpool supporters, the report said.
The families said they had emailed the Forfeiture Committee to ask for Sir Norman to have his knighthood and Queen’s Police Medal removed. Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne has written to the Cabinet Office and tabled an early day motion calling for the same thing.
Sir Norman would have had a case to answer in relation to allegations that he was deliberately dishonest about his involvement in the disaster when applying for the chief constable job at Merseyside and misled the public in press statements, the IOPC said.
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 that his alleged dishonesty brings both of these honours into disrepute.”
The new report reinforces the findings of the Hillsborough Independent Panel Report published in 2012, which concluded that no Liverpool fans were responsible in any way for the disaster and that the main cause was lack of police control.
It also supported the Goldring Inquests, 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, in its response as the disaster unfolded and in how it dealt with traumatised supporters and families searching for their loved ones.
It found evidence of a defensive approach adopted by SYP to the investigations and inquiries that followed, as it attempted to deflect blame. This included allegations about the behaviour of supporters, which have been repeatedly disproven.
At a press conference with other family members, Ms Hennessy said: “Nobody’s ever going to go to prison for killing them, so we’ll never get justice – and we knew that.”
She added: “We will never truly know the full extent of South Yorkshire Police force’s deception, but there is no hiding, there is no destroying, and there is no way to cover up that they failed their duties and then they sought to blame the victims.”
The IOPC said its investigation also found that 327 statements from officers had been amended, over 100 more than had previously been uncovered, as part of a defensive approach SYP adopted to control the evidence submitted 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 against the supporters”.
Mervyn Jones, who was assistant chief constable, and the then detective chief superintendent Michael Foster, were referred to the CPS for their failings, but the threshold for prosecution was not found to have been met, according to the report.
About the report, IOPC deputy director general Kathie Cashell said: “The 97 people who were unlawfully killed, their families, survivors of the disaster and all those so deeply affected, have been repeatedly let down – before, during and after the horrific events of that day.
“First by the deep complacency of South Yorkshire Police in its preparation for the match, followed by its fundamental failure to grip the disaster as it unfolded, and then through the force’s concerted efforts to deflect the blame onto the Liverpool supporters, which caused enormous distress to bereaved families and survivors for nearly four decades.
“They were let down again by the inexplicably narrow investigation into the disaster conducted by West Midlands Police, which was a missed opportunity to bring these failings to light much sooner.
“What they have had to endure over more than 36 years is a source of national shame.”
The families also hit back at South Yorkshire Police Federation’s claim that a report into the disaster was a “waste of taxpayers’ time and money”. The federation said it was not fair or balanced, stating: “Former police officers – some of whom are very elderly and some who have sadly passed away – do not have any kind of due process or the ability to formally respond to the allegations made in this report.”
Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died at the FA Cup semi-final, said in response: “This is going to change things for other people. It’s going to do nothing for the Hillsborough families.
“We know that, we accept that, we understand that. But what we’ve been campaigning for is to change things for the good of the nation, and to me that is what this is all about.”
She told The Independent that the IOPC’s findings were further proof of the need for a change in the law. The Public Office (Accountability) Bill, known as the Hillsborough Law, will force public officials to tell the truth in the aftermath of disasters. The bill had its second reading in parliament last month.
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