No misconduct case for officers who tried to ‘deflect blame’ after Hillsborough

An investigation into police conduct after the Hillsborough disaster has found that although officers tried to “deflect blame” they do not have a case to answer for misconduct, families have been told.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) began investigations in 2013 into the tragedy in Sheffield in 1989, in which 97 Liverpool fans died following a crush at the club’s FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

Earlier this week, bereaved families received a letter from the watchdog’s deputy director-general, Kathie Cashell, in which she said they will shortly be informed of the outcomes of complaints made about police conduct.

In the letter, which has been seen by the PA news agency, she said: “Our investigations did find evidence to support allegations that, in the aftermath of the disaster, South Yorkshire Police sought to deflect the blame from themselves.

“We found no evidence to support claims that the behaviour of supporters was a contributing factor.

“In the majority of cases, we were unable to find that officers had a case to answer for misconduct because the professional standards for policing at the time did not include a specific duty of candour.

“Despite the wider public interest to gain answers about what happened, South Yorkshire Police was entitled, within the law at the time, to present its ‘best case’ and be selective with the evidence it presented.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to bring forward a Hillsborough Law, which would include a legal duty of candour, by the time of the next anniversary of the disaster on April 15.

In the letter, Ms Cashell said: “We understand and share the frustrations of survivors and families who have been campaigning for a Hillsborough Law and welcome the Government’s proposed introduction of a new, stronger statutory duty of candour for all public servants, including the police.

“We believe this will strengthen the ability of our investigations to get to the truth.”

Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died in the disaster, told the PA news agency: “I’m pleased with what the IOPC have said, but to think that people have got away with this when families have died, tormented, not getting the truth, it is absolutely awful.

“How can you have 97 people unlawfully killed and nobody held to account, how can that possibly be?”

She said she had spoken to the Prime Minister last year and called for him to enact the Hillsborough Law in its entirety.

She added: “This shows it is very, very important to have the Hillsborough Law so that this type of thing can never happen again.”

Debbie Caine, director of Hillsborough Law Now said: “We’re encouraged by the support from the IOPC and the recognition that codes of conduct are simply not worth the paper they are written on.

“Yet it is clear that there is still opposition to a duty of candour applying to all public officials, and that is concerning.

“Our campaign will not accept a watered-down version of a Hillsborough Law and expect the promised Bill from the Prime Minister that the duty of candour will apply to all officials. We eagerly await the government’s draft Bill.”

Elkan Abrahamson, solicitor at Broudie Jackson Canter and director of the Hillsborough Law Now campaign, said: “In our meetings with Government officials over recent months, we have made it clear to them that the Hillsborough Law must be enacted in full to ensure that the law imposes a legal duty of candour on public authorities and officials to tell the truth and proactively co-operate with official investigations and inquiries. Nothing less will do.

“We sincerely hope and expect the new legislation matches the assurances given to us by ministers and delivers what so many have campaigned for over the years. We have been told that the draft Bill will be shared with us this month.”

The IOPC investigation, launched following publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel in 2012, supported new inquests into the deaths – which concluded in 2016 and found fans were unlawfully killed and that errors by South Yorkshire Police caused or contributed to their deaths.

In the letter, Ms Cashell said the IOPC agreed there were “fundamental failures” by South Yorkshire Police in the planning and policing of the match, held on April 15 1989 at Sheffield Wednesday’s stadium, as well as their response to the disaster and that the force adopted a “defensive approach” and “sought to control evidence” afterwards.

Ms Cashell said 354 complaints and conduct matters had been investigated and just over half of complainants had at least one allegation upheld.

She said: “I understand that for many it will be disappointing that this number is not higher. Our work has been restricted by a number of factors and the challenges of investigating events so long after they occurred.”

Officers who left the police force before 2017 could not face disciplinary proceedings regardless of findings due to the legislation in place at the time, she said.

She added that the investigations were “unprecedented in terms of scale and complexity” but had taken “far longer than anticipated”.

“I share everyone’s frustration that this has taken too long – survivors, bereaved families and all those who have campaigned for truth and accountability deserve better,” she said.

A spokeswoman for the IOPC said: “This week we notified all of the complainants, subject officers and interested persons, including the families of those who lost their lives as a result of the Hillsborough disaster, that they will receive the outcomes of our investigations into their complaint or conduct matter by the end of the month.”

South Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Lauren Poultney said the force fully accepts the IOPC’s finding and continues to offer an “unreserved apology” to those let down by the force at Hillsborough.

She added: “I do not under-estimate the impact on those who have had to campaign for more than 30 years to understand exactly what took place. This should not have happened.”

The only person to be convicted as a result of investigations into the disaster 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 in 2019 of failing to ensure the health and safety of fans arriving at the ground.

Match commander on the day David Duckenfield was cleared of gross negligence manslaughter after a retrial in 2019.

Retired officers Donald Denton and Alan Foster and former force solicitor Peter Metcalf were acquitted of perverting the course of justice in 2021 after a judge ruled there was no case to answer.