Lawyers acting for hundreds of those affected by disaster launch action against South Yorkshire and West Midlands police

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The families of Hillsborough victims are to launch a multimillion-pound high court claim against two police forces for “abuse on an industrial scale”.

Lawyers acting for hundreds of those affected by the disaster said they had launched proceedings against the South Yorkshire and West Midlands forces.

In a statement, solicitors firm Saunders Law said it was taking the high court action over the “cover-up and actions intended to wrongly blame the deceased and Liverpool Football Club supporters for the tragedy, for which there has still been no proper admission or apology”.



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It comes two days after a two-year inquest into the disaster determined that the 96 victims were unlawfully killed, sweeping aside years of claims that Liverpool fans were to blame.

David Crompton, the South Yorkshire police chief constable, was suspended on Wednesday in a move welcomed by some Hillsborough families amid demands for other heads to roll.

Saunders Law’s James Saunders said South Yorkshire police had spent £19m “defending the indefensible” at the inquest, which was the second one held into the disaster.

“In addition to the police wrongdoing that caused the deaths, there is evidence of the systematic cover-up intended to transfer the blame for what happened from South Yorkshire police to the innocent, by spreading lies, doctoring evidence, pressurising witnesses and suppressing the truth.



“The evidence points to abuse on an industrial scale by both South Yorkshire and West Midlands police, beyond any ‘one bad apple’ analysis. In addition to actions by individuals, the evidence suggests institutional misfeasance by these bodies directed against our clients and the fans generally.”

Nia Williams, a partner at the law firm, said the legal action was not about money for the families of the victims. “It’s for accountability, not damages,” she said.

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West Midlands police are facing legal action over claims it altered statements taken from football fans at the FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield on 15 April 1989.



Sheila Coleman from the Hillsborough Justice Campaign said: “It is an indictment on our society that the only way to bring people in power to account is to hit them where it hurts.

“It has been a rollercoaster since Tuesday. We are all a bit confused and elated. There is a whole range of emotions. There is a lot of elation and anger.”

Pete Weatherby QC, who represented some of the victims’ families, said: “Of the families that I represent, there is nothing further from their minds at the moment than the pursuit of money. This is a struggle by bereaved families, victims, for truth and justice and the end to impunity.

“And right in the middle they have had a famous, iconic victory in the inquests. But they are still very much in the middle of that struggle.”

The legal action follows the publication – and hasty withdrawal – of a letter to retired South Yorkshire police officers telling them to be proud of their service in spite of the outcome of the Hillsborough inquest.

The letter, which was said to have been posted and hastily removed from the website of the South Yorkshire branch of the National Association of Retired Police Officers on Wednesday, said their generation of police had faced “immense challenges”.

The message from branch secretary Rick Naylor, titled “It was a bad day”, said: “We put out a statement yesterday and tried to remain dignified amongst all the bile and hatred directed towards South Yorkshire Police and those of us who served in the 1980s.



“I am extremely proud to be an ex-South Yorkshire cop and I will hold my head up. South Yorkshire Police faced immense challenges in the 1980s - the steel strike, the miners’ dispute and Hillsborough, and along the way we caught the Yorkshire Ripper!

“All these challenges tested SYP [South Yorkshire Police], and, yes, mistakes were made and we would all like to turn the clock back, but beyond these headlines the communities of South Yorkshire were served by dedicated police officers, full of good humour, courage, and selflessness - and that was you.

“You will be feeling sore, angry and disheartened, but you did a good job – we all did.”

Naylor was one of the officers policing the FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough.

Labour MP for Liverpool Walton Steve Rotheram told the Press Association: “It’s totally insensitive. For families - for them to have at long last to have some faith in the British judicial system and that the police had changed and that things were different - it feeds that ‘us versus them’ and we thought we’d put a line under that.

“I don’t think there was bile and hatred towards police officers, I think the bile and hatred was one way and that was towards Liverpool fans and some of that was a direct consequence of the police being part of an orchestrated cover-up.”

Barry Devonside, whose 18-year-old son Christopher died in the tragedy, told the BBC: “They didn’t do a good job. Yes, I saw police officers endeavouring to give mouth-to-mouth or CPR and those people were excellent. But the sad thing is they were only a few, maybe on two hands you could count them.”