Hillsborough cops may face charges

The calls follow the publication of a damning report by the Hillsborough Independent Panel that exposed the extent of the cover-up by South Yorkshire Police, which attempted to shift the blame onto the 96 innocent victims.

The report found that 164 police statements had been altered, 116 of them to remove or alter "unfavourable" comments about the policing operation on the day. The panel also found that statements by South Yorks emergency services staff had been doctored.

The families of those who died have vowed to carry on their fight for justice by pursuing criminal prosecutions against those who they said should "hang their heads in shame."

Former lord chancellor Lord Falconer, who is advising the victims' relatives, said: "The question of criminal proceedings needs to be looked at."

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham, who established the panel, said that the role of serving police officers implicated in the report must be investigated further.

"There now has to be a process of investigation into what they did, what they knew, what they ordered, and where accountability lies," he said.

South Yorkshire Police Chief Constable David Crompton, who was appointed in April, said: "If someone has falsified something and it breaches the criminal law then fair enough, that applies to anybody, whether it's in relation to Hillsborough or anything else. They should face prosecution, let's be clear about it," he said.

There have also been calls for honours to be stripped from those criticised in the report including Sir Irvine Patrick, who was Tory MP for Sheffield Hallam at the time of the disaster and was singled out as a source for some of the false allegations linking the behaviour of fans to the deaths.

Labour backbencher John Mann said: "The shameful and disgusting behaviour of Sir Irvine Patnick is a significant feature in the Hillsborough independent panel report and his knighthood should be removed immediately.

West Yorkshire Chief Constable Sir Norman Bettison was also urged to resign after being identified in the report.

paddym@peoples-press.com