Sir Norman Bettison will not be prosecuted for charges of misconduct in a public office following the Hillsborough disaster
The families of Hillsborough victims have slammed a decision to drop charges against former police chief Sir Norman Bettison over alleged lies he told following the Hillsborough disaster.
The former Merseyside and West Yorkshire chief constable had been charged with four counts of misconduct in a public office, all relating to alleged lies he told about his role in the aftermath of the 1989 tragedy in which 96 Liverpool supporters died.
But, at a Preston Crown Court hearing before judge Sir Peter Openshaw on Tuesday, prosecutor Sarah Whitehouse QC said the proceedings would be discontinued.
Hillsborough Family Support Group chair Margaret Aspinall led calls for a review after the decision was announced today.
Ms Aspinall, who lost her 18-year-old son James in the tragedy, said: ‘We have grave concerns about the handling of this case by the CPS and can confirm that we will be exercising our right to an independent review under the Right to Review scheme.’
Speaking outside court, Steve Kelly, whose brother Michael died in the disaster, added: ‘I’m absolutely devastated. I feel as if I’ve been beaten up this morning.The feeling is just unbelievable.’
‘I feel as though we are treading water a little bit. We have tread water before and we will push on. We’ve got good people behind us, we’ve got good support and we’ve got God on our side.’

Ian Burke, son of Hillsborough victim Henry Burke, looked downcast after the announcement

Steve Kelly, the brother of victim Michael Kelly, said he was ‘absolutely devastated’
Lou Brookes, whose brother Andrew was one of the 96 victims, backed calls for the decision to be reviewed.
She said: ‘I’m not shocked, I totally expected it and predicted it. I have no faith and no trust or confidence in the CPS, the IPCC and Operation Resolve. They have not just let the families down, they have let the 96 down.’
Sir Norman had remained seated after the charges were discontinued and, as relatives of the victims filed out of court, some made loud comments in his direction.
Speaking outside court court following the decision, Sir Norman described Hillsborough as an ‘enduring tragedy’ and insisted his role in the aftermath had been ‘misrepresented’.
He said: ‘I have been forced to deny, strenuously, that I was guilty of any wrongdoing in the aftermath of the disaster. Today’s outcome vindicates that position.’
During the short court hearing, prosecutor Sarah Whitehouse QC told the judge that the ‘state of the evidence has changed’.
She said one of the two witnesses the Crown relied on for three of the charges, relating to statements he allegedly made blaming Liverpool fans for the disaster, had since died and ‘significant contradictions’ had come to light in the accounts given by the other witness.
Ms Whitehouse said the CPS had a duty to review the evidence and the decision was reached there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction.

A total of 96 football fans died after a gate was opened allowing them to enter the packed stadium ahead of a FA cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in 1989
Sir Norman, 62, who was a chief inspector at the time of the tragedy at the FA Cup semi-final on April 15 1989, had been due to face trial next year.
He was accused of untruthfully describing his role in the South Yorkshire Police response as ‘peripheral’ in a comment to then chief inspector of constabulary Sir David O’Dowd, in 1998, when Sir Norman applied for the job of chief constable in Merseyside.
He was also accused of lying to Merseyside Police Authority when he said he had never attempted to shift blame for the disaster ‘on to the shoulders of Liverpool supporters’.
Sir Norman, of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, was alleged to have lied in a statement issued on September 13 2012, following the publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel report, when he said he had never offered any interpretation other than that the behaviour of Liverpool fans did not cause the disaster.
He was also accused of misconduct over a statement released the following day in which he said his role was never to ‘besmirch’ the fans.

Margaret Aspinall (pictured last year), who lost her son at Hillsborough, called for a review
Sir Norman was charged after the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) carried out the biggest criminal investigation into alleged police misconduct ever carried out in England and Wales.
Five other men, including Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield, are due to face trial for offences related to the disaster next year.
The rise and fall of Sir Norman Bettison: Police officer who worked on aftermath of disaster failed to mention the role before he landed the chief constable job in Merseyside
Sir Norman Bettison had a 40-year career in policing before facing charges over his involvement following the Hillsborough disaster.
In 1989 he was working as a chief inspector in South Yorkshire Police.
He was at the Sheffield Wednesday stadium on April 15, the day of the disaster, but was off duty, attending the FA Cup semi-final as a spectator.

Sir Norman went on to become chief constable for Merseyside after leaving Yorkshire
In the aftermath of the tragedy, in which 96 people died, he was assigned to a team which was tasked with finding material for police lawyers to present to the public inquiry led by Lord Justice Taylor.
In 1998, after some time working for West Yorkshire Police, Sir Norman applied for the job of chief constable in Merseyside.
His appointment caused controversy and it emerged that he had not mentioned his work on Hillsborough in his application form.
Some members of Merseyside Police Authority resigned over his appointment, but he told the authority his role had been ‘peripheral’.

Sir Norman pictured on the day before he took up the role in Liverpool
He served as chief constable in Merseyside from 1998 until 2004, when he left to become chief executive of Centrex, a firm which offered training to police forces.
In 2006 he was knighted in the New Year Honours for his services to policing.
Later that year, he took the chief constable’s job at West Yorkshire Police.
In 2012, when the Hillsborough Independent Panel report was published, Sir Norman issued a statement saying he had never altered any documents following the disaster.
In the statement, he said the behaviour of some fans in the stadium on the day made the job of the police ‘harder than it needed to be’.
The following day, he released another statement in which he apologised for his initial comments and said his role was never to ‘besmirch’ the fans.
He resigned from the role of chief constable the following month as criticism continued.
Sir Norman gave evidence to the Hillsborough inquests in May 2015 and the following year, after the hearings concluded, he published the book Hillsborough Untold.
In it he criticised the Hillsborough Independent Panel report and the ongoing investigation into the disaster.
In June last year, he was charged with four counts of misconduct in a public office, relating to alleged lies he told about his involvement in the aftermath of Hillsborough and the culpability of fans.
The charges were dropped at Preston Crown Court on Tuesday after the Crown Prosecution Service said it would offer no evidence against him.
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