Latest news with #KathieCashell
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
No misconduct case for Hillsborough police
While police officers tried to "deflect blame" after the Hillsborough disaster, they do not have a misconduct case to answer, a watchdog has told families. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) began investigations in 2013 into the tragedy, in which a 15 April 1989 crush in Sheffield resulted in the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans. In a letter from the IOPC, seen by the Press Association, relatives were told they would shortly be informed of the outcomes of complaints made about police conduct. It said it was unable to find that officers had a case to answer for misconduct in the "majority of cases" as policing professional standards at the time "did not include a specific duty of candour". "Our investigations did find evidence to support allegations that, in the aftermath of the disaster, South Yorkshire Police sought to deflect the blame from themselves," the letter from Kathie Cashell, IOPC deputy director-general said. "We found no evidence to support claims that the behaviour of supporters was a contributing factor." She continued: "Despite the wider public interest to gain answers about what happened, South Yorkshire Police was entitled, within the law at the time, to present its 'best case' and be selective with the evidence it presented." Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer pledged to bring forward a Hillsborough Law, which would include a legal duty of candour, by the disaster's next anniversary. Ms Cashell said the IOPC welcomed "the government's proposed introduction of a new, stronger statutory duty of candour for all public servants, including the police". "We believe this will strengthen the ability of our investigations to get to the truth," she added. Reacting to the letter, Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died in the disaster, said: "This shows it is very, very important to have the Hillsborough Law so that this type of thing can never happen again." The IOPC investigation, launched following the publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel report in 2012, supported new inquests into the deaths. The new inquests concluded in 2016 and found fans were unlawfully killed, with errors by South Yorkshire Police causing or contributing to their deaths. Ms Cashell said the IOPC agreed there were "fundamental failures" by South Yorkshire Police in the planning and policing of the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, held at Sheffield Wednesday's stadium. The force adopted a "defensive approach" and "sought to control evidence" afterwards, the letter said. Ms Cashell said 354 complaints and conduct matters had been investigated, with just over half of complainants having at least one allegation upheld. But officers who left the police force before 2017 could not face disciplinary proceedings regardless of findings due to the legislation in place at the time, she said. "I share everyone's frustration that this has taken too long - survivors, bereaved families and all those who have campaigned for truth and accountability deserve better," she said. South Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Lauren Poultney said the force fully accepted the IOPC's finding and continued to offer an "unreserved apology" to those let down by the force at Hillsborough. "I do not underestimate the impact on those who have had to campaign for more than 30 years to understand exactly what took place," she said. "This should not have happened." Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North Hillsborough fans unlawfully killed 'Hillsborough Law' on the table by anniversary - PM Starmer to promise 'light at the end of tunnel' Police face Hillsborough families action Police forces agree Hillsborough cover-up payout
BBC News
12-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Hillsborough: No misconduct case for police, according to IOPC inquiry
While police officers tried to "deflect blame" after the Hillsborough disaster, they do not have a misconduct case to answer, a watchdog has told families. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) began investigations in 2013 into the tragedy, in which a 15 April 1989 crush in Sheffield resulted in the deaths of 97 Liverpool a letter from the IOPC, seen by the Press Association, relatives were told they would shortly be informed of the outcomes of complaints made about police said it was unable to find that officers had a case to answer for misconduct in the "majority of cases" as policing professional standards at the time "did not include a specific duty of candour". "Our investigations did find evidence to support allegations that, in the aftermath of the disaster, South Yorkshire Police sought to deflect the blame from themselves," the letter from Kathie Cashell, IOPC deputy director-general said."We found no evidence to support claims that the behaviour of supporters was a contributing factor."She continued: "Despite the wider public interest to gain answers about what happened, South Yorkshire Police was entitled, within the law at the time, to present its 'best case' and be selective with the evidence it presented."Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer pledged to bring forward a Hillsborough Law, which would include a legal duty of candour, by the disaster's next anniversary. Ms Cashell said the IOPC welcomed "the government's proposed introduction of a new, stronger statutory duty of candour for all public servants, including the police"."We believe this will strengthen the ability of our investigations to get to the truth," she added. Reacting to the letter, Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died in the disaster, said: "This shows it is very, very important to have the Hillsborough Law so that this type of thing can never happen again."The IOPC investigation, launched following the publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel report in 2012, supported new inquests into the new inquests concluded in 2016 and found fans were unlawfully killed, with errors by South Yorkshire Police causing or contributing to their deaths. Ms Cashell said the IOPC agreed there were "fundamental failures" by South Yorkshire Police in the planning and policing of the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, held at Sheffield Wednesday's force adopted a "defensive approach" and "sought to control evidence" afterwards, the letter Cashell said 354 complaints and conduct matters had been investigated, with just over half of complainants having at least one allegation officers who left the police force before 2017 could not face disciplinary proceedings regardless of findings due to the legislation in place at the time, she said."I share everyone's frustration that this has taken too long - survivors, bereaved families and all those who have campaigned for truth and accountability deserve better," she Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Lauren Poultney said the force fully accepted the IOPC's finding and continued to offer an "unreserved apology" to those let down by the force at Hillsborough."I do not underestimate the impact on those who have had to campaign for more than 30 years to understand exactly what took place," she said."This should not have happened." Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
The Guardian
12-03-2025
- The Guardian
Hillsborough disaster: multiple police misconduct claims upheld, families told
Multiple allegations of misconduct against police officers relating to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster have been upheld by the police standards watchdog, bereaved families have been told. However, none will face disciplinary proceedings because they have all left the police service. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it had upheld complaints against some former South Yorkshire police officers, and some who were serving at the West Midlands force, for misconduct during its original investigation into the disaster. In letters sent to bereaved family members this week, the IOPC deputy director general Kathie Cashell said almost 100 people had made a total of 354 complaints of misconduct, the investigations into some of which were still being finalised. 'However, to date just over half of complainants have had at least one complaint upheld, or in our opinion there would have been a case to answer for misconduct for one or more officers, had they remained serving,' she wrote. 'I understand that for many it will be disappointing that this number is not higher.' On 15 April 1989, 97 men, women and children, aged from 10 to 67, were killed in the lethal crush at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium at an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. Even as people were dying, South Yorkshire police mounted a false narrative that the disaster had been caused by Liverpool supporters arriving in large numbers late, drunk and without tickets. Bereaved families, survivors, supporters and campaigners relentlessly fought the case, accusing the force of lying to cover up its responsibility. Many survivors, including some who were under 18 at the time, have complained about how West Midlands police officers questioned them, and the IOPC said it had upheld some of those complaints. In April 2016 the jury at new inquests – held after a 1991 inquest verdict of accidental death was quashed in 2012 – determined that those who died had been unlawfully killed due to gross negligence manslaughter by Ch Supt David Duckenfield, the officer in charge of match safety. The jury also determined that no behaviour of Liverpool supporters contributed to the disaster. Families have long protested that no police officer faced disciplinary proceedings for the mismanagement that caused the disaster or the false narrative. Duckenfield was prosecuted for gross negligence manslaughter and acquitted in 2019. Cashell informed complainants that the IOPC's investigations had reached the same conclusions as the jury at the new inquests. She said complaints had been upheld against senior South Yorkshire officers for the policing of the match and against a number of other officers for being abusive of supporters at the match and some for 'excessive use of force'. However, she said most complaints against police officers for seeking 'to deflect the blame' had not been upheld because there was no legal duty at the time for the police to be candid. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Bereaved families and their lawyers have campaigned for a 'Hillsborough law' that would impose a statutory duty of candour on police and public officials. The government has promised to introduce it in some form by next month, the 36th anniversary of the disaster. Cashell wrote: 'Like the HIP [Hillsborough independent panel] report, our investigations did find evidence to support allegations that in the aftermath of the disaster, South Yorkshire police sought to deflect the blame from themselves. We found no evidence to support claims that the behaviour of supporters was a contributing factor. 'In the majority of cases, we were unable to find the officers had a case to answer for misconduct because the professional standards for policing at the time did not include a specific duty of candour. Despite the wider public interest to gain answers about what happened, South Yorkshire police was entitled, within the law at the time, to present its 'best case' and be selective with the evidence it presented.' Cashell said the IOPC would inform complainants, who include bereaved families and survivors of the disaster, of the findings regarding individual complaints by 28 March.
The Independent
12-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
No misconduct case for officers who tried to ‘deflect blame' after Hillsborough
An investigation into police conduct after the Hillsborough disaster has found that although officers tried to 'deflect blame' they do not have a case to answer for misconduct, families have been told. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) began investigations in 2013 into the tragedy in Sheffield in 1989, in which 97 Liverpool fans died following a crush at the club's FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest. Earlier this week, bereaved families received a letter from the watchdog's deputy director-general, Kathie Cashell, in which she said they will shortly be informed of the outcomes of complaints made about police conduct. In the letter, which has been seen by the PA news agency, she said: 'Our investigations did find evidence to support allegations that, in the aftermath of the disaster, South Yorkshire Police sought to deflect the blame from themselves. 'We found no evidence to support claims that the behaviour of supporters was a contributing factor. 'In the majority of cases, we were unable to find that officers had a case to answer for misconduct because the professional standards for policing at the time did not include a specific duty of candour. 'Despite the wider public interest to gain answers about what happened, South Yorkshire Police was entitled, within the law at the time, to present its 'best case' and be selective with the evidence it presented.' Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to bring forward a Hillsborough Law, which would include a legal duty of candour, by the time of the next anniversary of the disaster on April 15. In the letter, Ms Cashell said: 'We understand and share the frustrations of survivors and families who have been campaigning for a Hillsborough Law and welcome the Government's proposed introduction of a new, stronger statutory duty of candour for all public servants, including the police. 'We believe this will strengthen the ability of our investigations to get to the truth.' Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died in the disaster, told the PA news agency: 'I'm pleased with what the IOPC have said, but to think that people have got away with this when families have died, tormented, not getting the truth, it is absolutely awful. 'How can you have 97 people unlawfully killed and nobody held to account, how can that possibly be?' She said she had spoken to the Prime Minister last year and called for him to enact the Hillsborough Law in its entirety. She added: 'This shows it is very, very important to have the Hillsborough Law so that this type of thing can never happen again.' Debbie Caine, director of Hillsborough Law Now said: 'We're encouraged by the support from the IOPC and the recognition that codes of conduct are simply not worth the paper they are written on. 'Yet it is clear that there is still opposition to a duty of candour applying to all public officials, and that is concerning. 'Our campaign will not accept a watered-down version of a Hillsborough Law and expect the promised Bill from the Prime Minister that the duty of candour will apply to all officials. We eagerly await the government's draft Bill.' Elkan Abrahamson, solicitor at Broudie Jackson Canter and director of the Hillsborough Law Now campaign, said: 'In our meetings with Government officials over recent months, we have made it clear to them that the Hillsborough Law must be enacted in full to ensure that the law imposes a legal duty of candour on public authorities and officials to tell the truth and proactively co-operate with official investigations and inquiries. Nothing less will do. 'We sincerely hope and expect the new legislation matches the assurances given to us by ministers and delivers what so many have campaigned for over the years. We have been told that the draft Bill will be shared with us this month.' The IOPC investigation, launched following publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel in 2012, supported new inquests into the deaths – which concluded in 2016 and found fans were unlawfully killed and that errors by South Yorkshire Police caused or contributed to their deaths. In the letter, Ms Cashell said the IOPC agreed there were 'fundamental failures' by South Yorkshire Police in the planning and policing of the match, held on April 15 1989 at Sheffield Wednesday's stadium, as well as their response to the disaster and that the force adopted a 'defensive approach' and 'sought to control evidence' afterwards. Ms Cashell said 354 complaints and conduct matters had been investigated and just over half of complainants had at least one allegation upheld. She said: 'I understand that for many it will be disappointing that this number is not higher. Our work has been restricted by a number of factors and the challenges of investigating events so long after they occurred.' Officers who left the police force before 2017 could not face disciplinary proceedings regardless of findings due to the legislation in place at the time, she said. She added that the investigations were 'unprecedented in terms of scale and complexity' but had taken 'far longer than anticipated'. 'I share everyone's frustration that this has taken too long – survivors, bereaved families and all those who have campaigned for truth and accountability deserve better,' she said. A spokeswoman for the IOPC said: 'This week we notified all of the complainants, subject officers and interested persons, including the families of those who lost their lives as a result of the Hillsborough disaster, that they will receive the outcomes of our investigations into their complaint or conduct matter by the end of the month.' The only person to be convicted as a result of investigations into the disaster is former Sheffield Wednesday club secretary Graham Mackrell, who was fined £6,500 and ordered to pay £5,000 costs after he was found guilty in 2019 of failing to ensure the health and safety of fans arriving at the ground. Match commander on the day David Duckenfield was cleared of gross negligence manslaughter after a retrial in 2019. Retired officers Donald Denton and Alan Foster and former force solicitor Peter Metcalf were acquitted of perverting the course of justice in 2021 after a judge ruled there was no case to answer.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
No misconduct case for officers who tried to ‘deflect blame' after Hillsborough
An investigation into police conduct after the Hillsborough disaster has found that although officers tried to 'deflect blame' they do not have a case to answer for misconduct, families have been told. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) began investigations in 2013 into the tragedy in Sheffield in 1989, in which 97 Liverpool fans died following a crush at the club's FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest. Earlier this week, bereaved families received a letter from the watchdog's deputy director-general, Kathie Cashell, in which she said they will shortly be informed of the outcomes of complaints made about police conduct. In the letter, which has been seen by the PA news agency, she said: 'Our investigations did find evidence to support allegations that, in the aftermath of the disaster, South Yorkshire Police sought to deflect the blame from themselves. 'We found no evidence to support claims that the behaviour of supporters was a contributing factor. 'In the majority of cases, we were unable to find that officers had a case to answer for misconduct because the professional standards for policing at the time did not include a specific duty of candour. 'Despite the wider public interest to gain answers about what happened, South Yorkshire Police was entitled, within the law at the time, to present its 'best case' and be selective with the evidence it presented.' Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to bring forward a Hillsborough Law, which would include a legal duty of candour, by the time of the next anniversary of the disaster on April 15. In the letter, Ms Cashell said: 'We understand and share the frustrations of survivors and families who have been campaigning for a Hillsborough Law and welcome the Government's proposed introduction of a new, stronger statutory duty of candour for all public servants, including the police. 'We believe this will strengthen the ability of our investigations to get to the truth.' Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died in the disaster, told the PA news agency: 'I'm pleased with what the IOPC have said, but to think that people have got away with this when families have died, tormented, not getting the truth, it is absolutely awful. 'How can you have 97 people unlawfully killed and nobody held to account, how can that possibly be?' She said she had spoken to the Prime Minister last year and called for him to enact the Hillsborough Law in its entirety. She added: 'This shows it is very, very important to have the Hillsborough Law so that this type of thing can never happen again.' Debbie Caine, director of Hillsborough Law Now said: 'We're encouraged by the support from the IOPC and the recognition that codes of conduct are simply not worth the paper they are written on. 'Yet it is clear that there is still opposition to a duty of candour applying to all public officials, and that is concerning. 'Our campaign will not accept a watered-down version of a Hillsborough Law and expect the promised Bill from the Prime Minister that the duty of candour will apply to all officials. We eagerly await the government's draft Bill.' Elkan Abrahamson, solicitor at Broudie Jackson Canter and director of the Hillsborough Law Now campaign, said: 'In our meetings with Government officials over recent months, we have made it clear to them that the Hillsborough Law must be enacted in full to ensure that the law imposes a legal duty of candour on public authorities and officials to tell the truth and proactively co-operate with official investigations and inquiries. Nothing less will do. 'We sincerely hope and expect the new legislation matches the assurances given to us by ministers and delivers what so many have campaigned for over the years. We have been told that the draft Bill will be shared with us this month.' The IOPC investigation, launched following publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel in 2012, supported new inquests into the deaths – which concluded in 2016 and found fans were unlawfully killed and that errors by South Yorkshire Police caused or contributed to their deaths. In the letter, Ms Cashell said the IOPC agreed there were 'fundamental failures' by South Yorkshire Police in the planning and policing of the match, held on April 15 1989 at Sheffield Wednesday's stadium, as well as their response to the disaster and that the force adopted a 'defensive approach' and 'sought to control evidence' afterwards. Ms Cashell said 354 complaints and conduct matters had been investigated and just over half of complainants had at least one allegation upheld. She said: 'I understand that for many it will be disappointing that this number is not higher. Our work has been restricted by a number of factors and the challenges of investigating events so long after they occurred.' Officers who left the police force before 2017 could not face disciplinary proceedings regardless of findings due to the legislation in place at the time, she said. She added that the investigations were 'unprecedented in terms of scale and complexity' but had taken 'far longer than anticipated'. 'I share everyone's frustration that this has taken too long – survivors, bereaved families and all those who have campaigned for truth and accountability deserve better,' she said. A spokeswoman for the IOPC said: 'This week we notified all of the complainants, subject officers and interested persons, including the families of those who lost their lives as a result of the Hillsborough disaster, that they will receive the outcomes of our investigations into their complaint or conduct matter by the end of the month.' The only person to be convicted as a result of investigations into the disaster is former Sheffield Wednesday club secretary Graham Mackrell, who was fined £6,500 and ordered to pay £5,000 costs after he was found guilty in 2019 of failing to ensure the health and safety of fans arriving at the ground. Match commander on the day David Duckenfield was cleared of gross negligence manslaughter after a retrial in 2019. Retired officers Donald Denton and Alan Foster and former force solicitor Peter Metcalf were acquitted of perverting the course of justice in 2021 after a judge ruled there was no case to answer.
