Three former South Yorkshire Police officers will not be referred to CPS for Hillsborough allegations

14 Mar 2018 01:12 PM

Three former South Yorkshire Police (SYP) officers will not be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) following an investigation into allegations of a ‘cover-up’ by the force following the Hillsborough disaster.

Six other individuals were charged with offences relating to Hillsborough in June 2017.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) - now renamed the Independent Office for Police Conduct - investigated allegations that these three senior officers participated in a strategy to minimise SYP culpability for the disaster by wrongly blaming Liverpool fans. In particular, it is alleged that officers sought to deliberately mislead the Lord Justice Taylor inquiry, the contributions hearing and the original inquest proceedings.

Strategic Lead for Hillsborough Rachel Cerfontyne reviewed the evidence to see if it met the threshold for referral to the CPS.

Although there was some indication that two of the three former officers may have committed a criminal offence, it was not deemed appropriate to refer their cases because the CPS had already rejected the possibility of bringing criminal charges based on substantial evidence that was reviewed in 2016. No further evidence or legal matters have since been identified that could realistically alter that view.

The fact a referral at this stage could also potentially delay the trials of the former SYP officers and individuals already charged was also taken into account.

The CPS has also announced that they will not be charging two former senior West Midlands Police (WMP) officers in relation to the investigation conducted by the force into the causes of the disaster.

The IPCC submitted over 73,000 pages of evidence to the CPS after examining all aspects of the WMP criminal investigation. This involved:

• examining over 8,000 investigative actions stored on the WMP database HOLMES;
• extracting documents stored on floppy discs found during supervised searches of buildings on WMP estate;
• Conducting a warranted search of one of the suspect’s homes;
• Holding a witness appeal in September 2013 which resulted in 1,700 responses. 

Rachel Cerfontyne said: “At the core of my decision not to refer these SYP officers for formal charging decisions is the CPS’s clear view that charges would not be brought and the risk that a referral could cause disruption to the forthcoming Hillsborough trials.

“The evidence gathered by the investigation team has been wide ranging and thorough.  I have reviewed it very carefully, as I know the CPS have done.

“This will now be used to determine if any officer involved in Hillsborough would have had a case to answer for misconduct if they were still serving. These findings, along with underlying evidence, will be set out in full in the Hillsborough final investigation report.”

The rationale supporting the CPS’s WMP charging decisions can be found here.

In June 2017, the CPS confirmed the following charges had been authorised in relation to the Hillsborough disaster and its aftermath:

• Former Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield, match commander on the day of the disaster, was authorised to be charged with the manslaughter by gross negligence of 95 men, women and children.
• Former Chief Constable Norman Bettison was charged with four charges of misconduct in public office.  
• Graham Henry Mackrell, Sheffield Wednesday Football Club’s company secretary and safety officer at the time, was charged with two offences of contravening a term of condition of a safety certificate contrary to the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975. Also one offence of failing to take reasonable care for the health and safety of other persons who may have been affected by his acts or omissions at work under the Health and Safety Act 1974. 
• Peter Metcalf, a solicitor acting for the SYP during the Taylor Inquiry and the first inquests, was charged with doing acts with intent to pervert the course of public justice.
• Former Chief Superintendent Donald Denton and former Detective Chief Inspector Alan Foster were charged with the same offence.