The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has said the charges against Sir Norman Bettison have been dropped after two witnesses changed their evidence and a third has died.
Sir Norman, 62, who was a chief inspector in the South Yorkshire Police at the time of the Sheffield FA Cup semi-final tragedy on April 15 1989, had been due to face trial next year. He was accused of untruthfully describing his role in the South Yorkshire Police response as ‘peripheral’ in a comment to then chief inspector of constabulary Sir David O’Dowd, in 1998, when he applied for the job of chief constable in Merseyside. He was also accused of lying to Merseyside Police Authority by claiming to have never attempted to shift blame for the disaster ‘on to the shoulders of Liverpool supporters’.
He was further alleged to have lied in a statement issued on September 13 2012, following the publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel report, when he said he had never offered any interpretation other than that the behaviour of Liverpool fans did not cause the disaster and then was also accused of misconduct over a statement he released the following day in which he said his role was never to ‘besmirch’ the fans.
Hillsborough Family Support Group chair Margaret Aspinall is leading calls for a review after the decision was announced at Preston Crown Court.
Ms Aspinall, who lost her 18-year-old son James in the tragedy, said: “We have grave concerns about the handling of this case by the CPS and can confirm that we will be exercising our right to an independent review under the Right to Review scheme.”
Outside court, Steve Kelly, whose brother Michael died in the disaster, said: “I’m absolutely devastated. I feel as if I’ve been beaten up this morning.”
The CPS’ Sue Hemming said in a statement:
“‘The CPS has a duty to keep all cases under continuing review. Since the original decision to charge Norman Bettison in June 2017 there have been a number of significant developments which have affected the available evidence. These include changes in the evidence of two witnesses and the death of a third witness.
‘”Our latest review of the evidence has concluded the collective impact of these developments means there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction. I appreciate this news will be disappointing for the families and the CPS will meet with them in person to explain the decision.
“I would remind all concerned that although criminal proceedings are no longer active against Norman Bettison, there are five other defendants facing charges relating to Hillsborough and each has the right to a fair trial. It is therefore extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information which could in any way prejudice those proceedings.”
This last sentence has not stopped national newspapers from reporting the dismissal of charges against Sir Norman and the furore it has provoked.
In court, Sir Norman Bettison’s lawyer Paul Greaney QC criticised Merseyside MP Maria Eagle as he asserted there had been ‘political interference’ in the case:
“Contrary to public understanding, there has never been any suggestion in this failed prosecution that Sir Norman Bettison took part in a cover-up.The false understanding that he did so has been fostered, not by the prosecution, but by political figures.”
“In 1998 and again in 2012, Maria Eagle MP asserted under cover of Parliamentary Privilege that Sir Norman had been part of a unit that orchestrated a black propaganda campaign to deflect blame for the Hillsborough Disaster from South Yorkshire Police on to the fans of Liverpool Football Club. That claim, which Maria Eagle has not been prepared to repeat outside Parliament, is untrue.”
Speaking on the court steps after charges against him were dropped, Sir Norman said: “The loss of loved ones who will never come home from Hillsborough is an enduring tragedy. Such a devastating loss is deserving of all of our sympathies and has always included mine. Nothing, over the last six years, has diminished my sympathy.
“My involvement in the events around Hillsborough has often been misrepresented, even in Parliament. Since then, I have been forced to deny, strenuously, that I was guilty of any wrongdoing in the aftermath of the disaster. Today‘s outcome vindicates that position.”
Sir Norman was charged after the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) carried out the biggest criminal investigation into alleged police misconduct ever carried out in England and Wales. Five other men, including the Hillsborough stadium match commander of the time, David Duckenfield, are due to face trial next year for alleged offences related to the disaster.
Southport Councillor Tony Dawson says:
“Whenever there are such huge delays in addressing injustice, issues of evidence always come to the fore and this deficit appears to protect certain people, particularly those at the top. It is often the same in the NHS and in local authorities and in instuitutions like banks and churches. So, I completely understand the upset which the families are going through hearing this news.”
“When Trevor Hicks first came to speak to us in Southport, most people were very sympathetic. We tried to get questions asked for the families but everyone seemed naturally very sceptical that any police officer, let alone several senior police officers, could have been responsible for some of the things which have already emerged. I genuinely hope that next year’s trial provides more answers as to what truly happened and who was responsible.”
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