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Hillsborough criminal probe has 23 suspects
23 suspects could now face prosecution following the
results of the inquest concuding the 98 victims of the FA Cup Semi Final tragedy
had been killed "unlawfully." The Independent Police Complaints
Commission (IPCC) and Operation Resolve, on 12 January 2017, referred files of
evidence relating to 23 suspects they have identified, from their Hillsborough
investigations, to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
The CPS will now
have to decide whether criminal charges should follow. The IPCC probe has
been the biggest criminal investigation into alleged Police misconduct ever
conducted in England and Wales. It is
not publicly known who the 23 individuals are. Of these, 15 suspects
relate to Operation Resolve?s
investigation
into the causes of the disaster. The potential offences for consideration
include:- gross negligence manslaughter, perverting the course of justice,
misconduct in public office and offences under the Safety of Sports Ground Act
1975 and Health and Safety at Work legislation. A further 8 individuals relate
to the IPCC?s
independent
investigation into both South Yorkshire Police and West Midlands
Police and the alleged cover up of the disaster. The potential offences for
consideration include perverting the course of justice, conspiracy to pervert
the course of justice and misconduct in public office.
The CPS will consider any other relevant offences on the evidence
presented by both
investigation
teams. The information the IPCC has provided to the CPS about West Midlands
Police and South Yorkshire Police runs to 61,000 pages and nearly 3,000
documents respectively, while the information provided by Operation Resolve runs
to approximately 85,000 pages. It's understood that the CPS may now take
up to 6 months to consider all the evidence.
Sue Hemming, Head of CPS Special Crime and
Counter Terrorism Division, said:- "Having received
files from both Hillsborough investigations, we will now assess these in order
to determine whether we have sufficient material on which to make charging
decisions. Charging decisions will be based on the tests set out in the Code for
Crown Prosecutors."
AC Robert Beckley, Office in Overall Command
of Operation Resolve said:- "Our task has been to
investigate whether any individual or organisation is criminally culpable for
their role either in the planning and preparation for the match or on the day of
the game itself. The extensive file we have submitted, which contains over 35
million words, reflects four years of intense work from my team. As well as
conducting a criminal
investigation,
for three years we also supported the coronial process in providing the coroner
with thousands of documents, witness statements and reports to assist him in
conducting the inquests."
IPCC Deputy Chair Rachel Cerfontyne said:-
"These criminal investigations into the circumstances surrounding the
Hillsborough disaster are the largest investigations into alleged police
wrongdoing ever undertaken in England and Wales. Conducting an inquiry of this
scale and complexity, while supporting the longest running inquests in British
legal history, has been a significant undertaking for the IPCC. Our criminal
investigation
has now substantially concluded." |
