An investigation into the Hillsborough disaster has found 12 police officers would have faced gross misconduct proceedings for “fundamental failures” on the day and “concerted efforts” to blame fans in the aftermath.
A report published on Tuesday by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) also upheld or found cases to answer for misconduct in 92 complaints about police actions – but the law at the time means no officers will face disciplinary proceedings because they had all retired before investigations began.
Investigations into the disaster by the IOPC and criminal probe Operation Resolve began in 2012, following the publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel report, and cost more than £150 million.
Speaking at a press conference with other family members, Charlotte Hennessy, whose father James was 29 when he died in the disaster, said: “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.”
Nicola Brook, a solicitor at Broudie Jackson Canter acting for several bereaved families, said it was a “bitter injustice” that no-one would be held to account.
She said: “This outcome may vindicate the bereaved families and survivors who have fought for decades to expose the truth – but it delivers no justice.
“Instead, it exposes a system that has allowed officers to simply walk away, retiring without scrutiny, sanction or consequence for failing to meet the standards the public has every right to expect.
“Yes, the law has now changed so this loophole cannot be used in future. But for those affected by this case, that is no consolation.
“They are left with yet another bitter injustice: the truth finally acknowledged, but accountability denied.”
Among those who would have had cases to answer for gross misconduct if they were still serving were South Yorkshire Police’s then-chief constable Peter Wright and match commander David Duckenfield, as well as Sir Norman Bettison, who went on to become chief constable of Merseyside Police.
Ninety-seven Liverpool supporters died at the FA Cup semi-final on April 15 1989, 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 where the crush happened.
IOPC deputy director general Kathie Cashell said the victims, their families and survivors had been “repeatedly let down”.
“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,” she said.
“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.”
The West Midlands officers who led the investigation into the disaster, 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 found to have been met, according to the report.
The IOPC said both former officers 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”.
Mr Duckenfield, 81, 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 for failing to respond and telling FA officials, in what he later acknowledged was a lie, that fans had forced their way in.
The report noted that allegations fans were to blame for the disaster were “wholly refuted” at new inquests into the deaths, which in 2016 concluded fans had been unlawfully killed.
Other officers who would have faced cases for gross misconduct related to their actions on the day were Mr Duckenfield’s second-in-command Bernard Murray and his superior, assistant chief constable Walter Jackson, who was also noted to have failed in the planning of the match, as well as officers on duty in the Leppings Lane end Roger Marshall, a superintendent, then-inspector Harry White and John Morgan, a sergeant.
Mounted police constable David Scott would have faced a case of gross misconduct for his account that his horse suffered cigarette burns from Liverpool fans – an incident which evidence indicated did not take place, the IOPC said.
South Yorkshire Police chief Mr Wright, who died in 2011, was found to be “insensitive” by investigators looking at allegations he attempted to promote a false narrative and would have had a case to answer for seeking to deflect blame.
Sir Norman, who was a chief inspector at the time, 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.
The IOPC found retired detective chief inspector Alan Foster would have had a gross misconduct case to answer for allegations he pressured officers who resisted amendments to their statements.
Mr Foster, along with former chief superintendent Donald Denton and force solicitor Peter Metcalf, was charged with doing acts tending and intended to pervert the course of justice but halfway through their trial, in 2021, a judge ruled there was no case to answer.
Investigators found South Yorkshire Police did attempt to deflect blame from the disaster away from the police, but Ms Cashell said they did not find evidence of an orchestrated cover-up to the evidence threshold which they would need to meet.
The report also said there was no evidence that attempts to deflect blame were related to Freemasonry, or an attempt to protect a Freemason.
The only person to be convicted as a result of the probes is former Sheffield Wednesday club secretary Graham Mackrell, who was fined £6,500 and ordered to pay £5,000 costs after he was found guilty of failing to ensure the health and safety of fans arriving at the ground.
