IPCC to investigate potential criminal charges relating to Hillsborough disaster

The Independent Police Complaints Commission have announced that they plan to investigate potential criminal charges relating to the Hillsborough tragedy.

The Hillsborough Independent Panel published a report last month claiming that 116 statements from the West Yorkshire Police had been altered to deflect blame from the authorities onto Liverpool supporters, who lost 96 of their own fans in a crush at the Hillsborough Stadium during an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest in 1989.

A statement by the deputy chair of the IPCC Deborah Glass said: "The potential criminal and misconduct offences disclosed by the panel's report fall into two broad categories.

"They are the allegations that go to the heart of what happened at Hillsborough in April 1989 and individuals and institutions may be culpable for the deaths, and there are allegations about what happened after the disaster, that evidence was fabricated and misinformation was spread in an attempt to shift blame.

"I think I can confidently say this will be the largest independent inquiry that has been launched into the actions of the police in the United Kingdom."

The IPCC have also claimed that they will look into the actions of West Yorkshire Chief Constable Sir Norman Bettison, who was the senior serving police officer at the time of the disaster 23 years ago.