23/10/2012

Over 1,000 Police Names Passed to IPCC In Hillsborough Investigation

1,444 serving and former police officers have been passed to the Independent Police Complaints Commission as part of its investigation into the Hillsborough disaster.

Keith Vaz, the Home Affairs Committee chairman, told MPs the "huge number" had been revealed to him in a letter from South Yorkshire Police's chief constable.

The government said the number showed the "enormity" of the investigation, adding that the police watchdog probe would be "thorough and wide-ranging".

MPs were debating the Independent Hillsborough Panel Report, which last month found police and emergency services had made "strenuous attempts" to deflect the blame for the disaster - in which 96 people died - on to fans.

The independent panel revealed 164 police statements had been altered - 116 of them to remove or change negative comments about the policing of the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at the Sheffield stadium.

The panel also found that 41 of the 96 who had died had had the "potential to survive", and the attorney general last week asked the High Court to consider ordering fresh inquests into the deaths.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and the director of public prosecutions are both conducting inquiries into possible crimes committed by police.

(H)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

06 June 2006
Muslim leader comments on terror raid
The new leader of the Muslim Council of Britain has warned that trust between Muslims and the police could be damaged following a raid by anti-terrorist police in east London.
01 April 2004
New police complaints body launched today
A new independent police complaints organisation has been launched today which is designed to "increase police and public confidence" in the accountability and integrity of the police service, the Home Office has said.
01 February 2013
IPCC 'Understaffed And Under-Equipped' Says MP Report
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is overwhelmed, woefully under-equipped and failing to get to the truth of allegations, a Home Affairs Select Committee report has said. The police watchdog for England and Wales needs more resources and powers, the report adds.
14 April 2011
British Man Dies In Dubai Police Custody
A British man has died in police custody in Dubai. Lee Bradley Brown, 39, from east London, died on Tuesday after he was taken to a Dubai police station where he was allegedly assaulted and put into a cell. It has been reported that Mr Brown, was arrested over a row at the luxury hotel Burj Al Arab hotel.
01 November 2013
North Yorkshire Police Will Not Face Savile Action
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has ruled that North Yorkshire Police will not face any action over contact between its officers and Jimmy Savile. The force had been investigated by the IPCC "in light of information received". They have now said that following a review of "all relevant material", there will be no further action.