Six charged over Hillsborough disaster

Floral tributes are placed by soccer fans at the 'Kop' end of Anfield Stadium in Liverpool. Photo/AP

Six men including the Hillsborough match commander have been charged over the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, which saw 96 Liverpool FC fans die in Sheffield, England.

Match commander David Duckenfield, former chief constable Sir Norman Bettison and four other people have been charged with offences relating to the disaster.

The UK Crown Prosecution Service announced that Duckenfield has been charged with the manslaughter by gross negligence of 95 of the 96 fans who died at the FA Cup semi-final. Bettison is accused of four counts of misconduct in public office.

Sue Hemming, head of the special crime and counter-terrorism division, said former South Yorkshire Police officers Donald Denton and Alan Foster, as well as force solicitor Peter Metcalf, are charged with doing acts with intent to pervert the course of justice, and former Sheffield Wednesday secretary Graham Mackrell is charged with three offences relating to health and safety and safety at sports grounds.

Families of the 96 men, women and children killed at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final gathered in Warrington on Wednesday morning to hear the announcement.

They were informed of the decisions by Sue Hemming, the head of special crime at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Operation Resolve, which investigated the causes of the disaster, and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) passed files of evidence relating to 23 suspects, including individuals and organisations, to the CPS earlier this year.

Last year, new inquests found the 96 were unlawfully killed in the disaster, which happened at the match between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest.

The jury also identified errors in the police planning and response, the actions of commanding officers, the safety certification of the ground, the management of the stadium by Sheffield Wednesday FC and the response by the ambulance service. It also found there were dangerous features in the stadium design.

The original inquest in 1991 ruled that the deaths were accidental, but those verdicts were quashed following an independent report that concluded a major cover-up had taken place to shift the blame for the disaster onto the victims.

Following the disaster on April 15 1989, it is alleged that officers from South Yorkshire Police conspired to blame the fans for the tragedy with statements being changed and evidence hidden.

Police at the time briefed the media that the crush in the Leppings Lane end had been caused by drunken, ticketless fans forcing the gates open in order to gain access to the ground.

The IPCC, which has been investigation the alleged conspiracy, said it had identified 289 police accounts that had been amended.

Last year, a jury concluded after fresh inquests that those who died had been unlawfully killed in a tragedy caused by a series of blunders.

-Daily Telegraph