Six Charged for Roles in Hillsborough Disaster

Following a six month investigation by the Crown Prosecution Service, today six people have been charged for their roles in the Hillsborough disaster, including match commander David Duckenfield and Norman Bettison, who was heavily involved with coordinating the response of the South Yorkshire Police following the dissaster.

Others charged are Graham Henry Mackrell, Sheffield Wednesday’s safety officer; Peter Metcalf, a South Yorkshire Police solicitor; and Donald Denton and Alan Foster, both members of the South Yorkshire Police at the time of the disaster.

The CPS investigation was launched to determine if criminal charges should be pressed following the conclusion of the Hillsborough Independent Panel in 2012. Twenty-three suspects were considered during their investigation, including a further six police officers who escaped charges due to insufficient evidence.

However, information on the CPS’ decisions on all the suspects has not been released, meaning further charges remain possible. In the case of Duckenfield, the CPS decided to lay manslaughter charges on the grounds that his decisions were “extraordinarily bad and contributed substantially” to the death of 96 people.

For Bettison’s role, the CPS’ charges were of misconduct based on a perceived “abuse of the public’s trust.” Sheffield Wednesday as a club will face no charges as a result of the investigation, and neither will the Ambulance service or three individual members of it that were under investigation.