Football: Independent probe into British police

Probe to examine potential criminal actions by officers involved in the 1989 Hillsborough football disaster.

LONDON: The largest independent probe into British police was launched yesterday to examine potential criminal actions by officers involved in the 1989 Hillsborough football disaster in which 96 spectators died after a crowd crush in the stadium. Serving and former officers, including those in senior positions, could face charges or misconduct proceedings for failings and cover-ups over Britain’s worst sporting disaster, said the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). “The report revealed extremely serious and troubling issues for the police,” said IPCC deputy chairman Deborah Glass. “Its contents provoked a demand for those responsible for the actions revealed in the report to be held to account.” She said their probe would ‘without a shadow of a doubt’ be Britain’s biggest inquiry into police behaviour.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2012.