Damning Hillsborough disaster report finds 12 police officers escaped blame following 'fundamental failures'

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.

However, the law at the time means no officers will face disciplinary proceedings because they had all retired before investigations began.

Probes into the disaster by the IOPC and criminal probe Operation Resolve began in 2012 after the publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel report, and cost more than £150 million.

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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."

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.

Among those who would have had cases to answer for gross misconduct if they were still serving include South Yorkshire Police’s then-chief constable Peter Wright and match commander David Duckenfield.

Sir Norman Bettison, who went on to become chief constable of Merseyside Police, also would have been among the list.

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.I

OPC deputy director general Kathie Cashell said the victims, their families and survivors had been "repeatedly let down."

Ms Cashell said: "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."

West Midlands officers who led the investigation into the disaster, assistant chief constable Mervyn Jones, 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.

Mr Duckenfield, 81, a chief superintendent on the day, was cleared of gross negligence manslaughter by a jury in 2019.

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.

Also included were 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.

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.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: "The unlawful killing of the 97 at Hillsborough 36 years ago is a stain on our nation’s history and today serves as a stark reminder of one of the most significant failings in policing the country has ever seen.

"I want to pay tribute to the families and survivors of Hillsborough.

"They have faced years of mistreatment and delay, but thanks to their tireless campaigning we are introducing the Hillsborough Law which will place a legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities.

"There is also now legislation in place which means that police officers cannot evade misconduct proceedings by retiring or resigning, so these failings can never be repeated."