EX-POLICE CHIEF Sir Norman Bettison – who was in charge of the police operation at Hillsborough football ground on the day 96 fans died – is to walk free after criminal charges arising out of his conduct on the day were abandoned.
Bettison appeared at Preston Crown Court this morning, 21st August – to hear Sarah Whitehouse QC, the barrister leading the prosecution – say that the legal proceedings would be discontinued.
The Hillsborough “Disaster” The fans died on 15th April 1989 at Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield – a neutral venue, where the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest was to be played. Police mismanagement of the Liverpool supporters led to severe overcrowding in the Leppings Lane stand, and fans were slowly crushed to death at the front of the stand, as police pushed more and more fans in at the back.
The situation was made much worse by the fence at the front of the stand which barred fans from invading the pitch. Police on the pitch, and match officials, initially ignored fans’ cries for help – even pushing some fans who had clambered over the fence back into the stand.
Eventually play came to a halt, as fans and officials on the pitch worked together to try to rescue the injured and the dying. Still no formal police rescue operation kicked in – and ambulances and paramedics were not helped to access the pitch in the scale required.
The official cover-up The authorities combined to cover up the behaviour of the police on the day. The official report into the events concluded that South Yorkshire Police Force failed to control the crowd safely, but claimed there was not enough evidence to prosecute any officers. The inquest ruled that the fans had suffered accidental deaths. The police suggested that the fans had been drunk and disorderly and were, in effect, partly to blame for the deaths of their comrades.
The families and friends of the victims campaigned tirelessly for justice. It took until April 2014 – 25 years – for new inquests to begin. They concluded two years later – with a new ruling that the police had been negligent and the design of the ground had contributed to the danger.
As a result of the new findings, a number of prosecutions were undertaken – one of which was the prosecution of Sir Norman, who was charged with four counts of misconduct in public office. The charges arose out of lies he told shortly after the event concerning his own actions on the day.
Reactions to today’s decision Sarah Whitehouse QC told the court that the CPS had reviewed the evidence in the case against Sir Norman and had decided that there was no longer a realistic prospect of obtaining a conviction. Specifically, two witnesses had changed their evidence since Sir Norman was first charged, and a third had died.
Members of the Hillsborough Family Support Group responded to the news with shock, disappointment – and anger. The news hit them hard on a personal level, but those who spoke out were confident that the campaign would keep pressing for justice. The Group’s Chair, Margaret Aspinall, confirmed that the Group would be applying for an independent review of the CPS decision to drop the prosecution.
For his part, Sir Norman – who has always said that his actions, and lies about what he did, were incidental to the deaths, not the cause of them, and did not constitute wrongdoing on a scale to merit prosecution. He said that he had suffered because the prosecution had forced him to retire early from the policy force – and that the CPS decision had left him feeling vindicated.
•Read more about it: Hillsborough: Anne’s last wish comes true Hillsborough: JUSTICE AT LAST