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| Hillsborough disaster: six people, including David Duckenfield, charged | Hillsborough disaster: six people, including David Duckenfield, charged |
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| Six people including two former senior police officers have been charged with criminal offences relating to the deaths of 96 people at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough football ground and the alleged police cover-up which followed. | Six people including two former senior police officers have been charged with criminal offences relating to the deaths of 96 people at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough football ground and the alleged police cover-up which followed. |
| David Duckenfield, the South Yorkshire officer who was in command of policing at the match, has been charged with manslaughter of 95 people – the 96th, Tony Bland, died four years later after his life support was switched off. | David Duckenfield, the South Yorkshire officer who was in command of policing at the match, has been charged with manslaughter of 95 people – the 96th, Tony Bland, died four years later after his life support was switched off. |
| Sue Hemming, the Crown Prosecution Service head of special crime and counter-terrorism division, said the CPS would allege that Duckenfield’s failure to take personal responsibility on the day was “extraordinarily bad and contributed substantially to the deaths of each of those 96 people who so tragically and unnecessarily lost their lives”. | |
| Sir Norman Bettison, the former chief constable of Merseyside and West Yorkshire police, who was an inspector in the South Yorkshire force at the time of the disaster, has been charged with four counts of misconduct in a public office. | Sir Norman Bettison, the former chief constable of Merseyside and West Yorkshire police, who was an inspector in the South Yorkshire force at the time of the disaster, has been charged with four counts of misconduct in a public office. |
| On the four charges of misconduct in a public office relating to Bettison, Hemming said the officer allegedly told lies about his involvement in the disaster. “Given his role as a senior police officer, we will ask the jury to find that this was misconduct of such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public’s trust in the office holder,” she said. | On the four charges of misconduct in a public office relating to Bettison, Hemming said the officer allegedly told lies about his involvement in the disaster. “Given his role as a senior police officer, we will ask the jury to find that this was misconduct of such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public’s trust in the office holder,” she said. |
| Graham Mackrell, the Sheffield Wednesday chief executive and officially designated safety officer for the Hillsborough stadium, has also been charged with breaching the teams of the ground’s safety certificate and failing to take reasonable care under the Health and Safety at Work Act. | Graham Mackrell, the Sheffield Wednesday chief executive and officially designated safety officer for the Hillsborough stadium, has also been charged with breaching the teams of the ground’s safety certificate and failing to take reasonable care under the Health and Safety at Work Act. |
| The three other men are all charged with doing acts with intent to pervert the course of justice, for the process by which statements made by South Yorkshire police officers on duty at Hillsborough were subsequently reviewed and changed. | The three other men are all charged with doing acts with intent to pervert the course of justice, for the process by which statements made by South Yorkshire police officers on duty at Hillsborough were subsequently reviewed and changed. |
| Donald Denton, the South Yorkshire police chief superintendent who operated in a senior role in that process, his deputy, chief inspector Alan Foster, and the then South Yorkshire police solicitor, Peter Metcalf, have all been charged. | Donald Denton, the South Yorkshire police chief superintendent who operated in a senior role in that process, his deputy, chief inspector Alan Foster, and the then South Yorkshire police solicitor, Peter Metcalf, have all been charged. |
| Hemming added: “Following our careful review of the evidence, in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, I have decided that there is sufficient evidence to charge six individuals with criminal offences. | Hemming added: “Following our careful review of the evidence, in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, I have decided that there is sufficient evidence to charge six individuals with criminal offences. |
| “Criminal proceedings have now commenced and the defendants have a right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.” | “Criminal proceedings have now commenced and the defendants have a right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.” |
| The CPS also considered bringing charges against Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, the South Yorkshire metropolitan ambulance service and the Football Association (FA). Hemming said Sheffield Wednesday could not face charges as a legal entity as it “only now exists on paper”. She added there were “no directors or others listed who form the company and therefore no-one who can give instructions to answer any criminal charge or enter a plea”. | |
| There was insufficient evidence to prosecute senior staff from the ambulance service, she said. There was also insufficient evidence to bring a case against the FA, which was considered for breaches of health and safety legislation and the Safety of Sports Grounds Act. Hemming said “there was not a realistic prospect of a conviction against them”. | |
| Families of those who died gathered at Parr Hall, a venue in Warrington, near Liverpool, to hear the news directly from representatives of the Crown Prosecution Service. | Families of those who died gathered at Parr Hall, a venue in Warrington, near Liverpool, to hear the news directly from representatives of the Crown Prosecution Service. |
| The charges are the latest significant landmark in a 28-year campaign for accountability fought since the disaster by the families of the 96 people who died, survivors of the crush and the wider Liverpool and football supporting communities. | The charges are the latest significant landmark in a 28-year campaign for accountability fought since the disaster by the families of the 96 people who died, survivors of the crush and the wider Liverpool and football supporting communities. |
| Last April the jury, which heard new inquests into the deaths, determined following two years of evidence that the 96 people had been unlawfully killed, and that the conduct of Liverpool supporters who attended the match did not contribute to the dangerous situation. | Last April the jury, which heard new inquests into the deaths, determined following two years of evidence that the 96 people had been unlawfully killed, and that the conduct of Liverpool supporters who attended the match did not contribute to the dangerous situation. |
| In January, the two new criminal investigations into the disaster and South Yorkshire police conduct afterwards announced that they had sent files of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service on 23 individuals and organisations. | In January, the two new criminal investigations into the disaster and South Yorkshire police conduct afterwards announced that they had sent files of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service on 23 individuals and organisations. |
| Fifteen of those 23 files related to the circumstances which led to the disaster itself on 15 April 1989, in which hundreds of people suffered injuries and trauma as well as the 96 people who were killed. The remaining eight files were sent by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, relating to their inquiry into the way the police compiled evidence and presented its case in public and to the subsequent legal procedures. | Fifteen of those 23 files related to the circumstances which led to the disaster itself on 15 April 1989, in which hundreds of people suffered injuries and trauma as well as the 96 people who were killed. The remaining eight files were sent by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, relating to their inquiry into the way the police compiled evidence and presented its case in public and to the subsequent legal procedures. |
| The new inquests were ordered after the first verdict in 1991 was quashed by the high court in December 2012, following a 21-year campaign by the families and a report in September 2012 by the Hillsborough Independent Panel. | The new inquests were ordered after the first verdict in 1991 was quashed by the high court in December 2012, following a 21-year campaign by the families and a report in September 2012 by the Hillsborough Independent Panel. |
| The panel’s report prompted the new police criminal investigation, Operation Resolve, into the events at the semi-final, which led to the lethal crush, and by the IPCC into the alleged efforts by South Yorkshire police to cover up their own responsibility and pervert the course of justice. | The panel’s report prompted the new police criminal investigation, Operation Resolve, into the events at the semi-final, which led to the lethal crush, and by the IPCC into the alleged efforts by South Yorkshire police to cover up their own responsibility and pervert the course of justice. |
| The criminal investigations, based in five floors of a Warrington office block, have cost a combined £100m over four-and-a-half years. The government has funded the costs of legal representation for the bereaved families, who struggled to fund their battle through the courts for 23 years before the panel’s report, facing police lawyers paid out of public funds. | The criminal investigations, based in five floors of a Warrington office block, have cost a combined £100m over four-and-a-half years. The government has funded the costs of legal representation for the bereaved families, who struggled to fund their battle through the courts for 23 years before the panel’s report, facing police lawyers paid out of public funds. |
| The defendants, other than Duckenfield, will appear at Warrington magistrates court on 9 August. |