The former chief constable would have a gross misconduct case to answer over Hillsborough if he were serving today, an IOPC report finds
Former South Yorkshire Police Chief Inspector and former Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, Norman Bettison
Former South Yorkshire Police Chief Inspector and former Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, Norman Bettison(Image: PA)
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There are fresh calls for former Merseyside Police chief constable Norman Bettison to be stripped of both his knighthood and his police pension. It comes after a major investigation found Bettison would have a gross misconduct case to answer were he still a serving police officer.
In December last year, a report revealed the appalling extent of police failures that led to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, and officers’ actions in a subsequent cover-up that tried to blame Liverpool fans.
Based on the investigations by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and Operation Resolve, the report found a number of high ranking officers, including former SYP chief constable Peter Wright, match commander on the day David Duckenfield and former Merseyside Police chief constable Norman Bettison, would all have faced gross misconduct cases if they were still serving officers today.
The report concluded South Yorkshire Police fundamentally failed in its planning for the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, and in how it dealt with traumatised supporters and families who were desperately searching for their loved ones, before officers attempted to deflect blame for the disaster onto Reds supporters.
Bettison, a former chief constable of both Merseyside and West Yorkshire Police was a chief inspector in SYP at the time of the disaster. In 1998, he left West Yorkshire Police to become the chief constable of the Merseyside force in a move that was passionately opposed by a number of families of those who died at Hillsborough.
The IOPC report said if he remained a serving officer today, he would have faced a gross misconduct case. That investigation would have focused on allegations he was deliberately dishonest about his involvement in the disaster during his application for and appointment to the top police role with Merseyside Police in 1998.
He was also accused of providing misleading and inaccurate press statements, “minimising his role to one on the periphery” to post-disaster investigations carried out by SYP – including during his time as chief constable of both Merseyside and West Yorkshire Police. Criminal charges against Bettison over his role in the aftermath of the disaster were dropped in 2018.
In a first full Knowsley Council meeting since the IOPC report was published, Cllr Jayne Lonergan spoke passionately about the lasting impacts of the Hillsborough disaster, and introduced a motion calling for Bettison to be stripped of his knighthood.
As part of the motion, Cllr Lonergan asked the Chief Executive of Knowsley Council to write to the Cabinet Office and ask for Bettison’s knighthood to be withdrawn, and to consider options to remove his police pension.
Presenting the motion to the council chamber, Cllr Lonergan said: “On the 15th of April 1989, approximately 24,000 Liverpool fans travelled to Sheffield to attend the semi-final of the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest, with the expectation of watching an enjoyable football match. I was one of those fans.
“There was added excitement about the possibility of an all Merseyside cup final, should both Liverpool and Everton, who were playing in the the other semi-final, win their respective ties. So we all thought we were in for a good day out. Unfortunately, history tells us that was not the case.
“Instead of joy, the day turned to horror. 94 Liverpool fans lost their lives that day, and in the years that followed, a further three sadly died. In addition, hundreds of fans were injured and countless numbers were affected by what happened.
“For those fans who attended that match, and a number of them are in the chamber today, the events of that day will never leave them.
“What happened at Hillsborough should never have happened. No one should lose their life watching a football match. Rather than investigate what happened at Hillsborough, there was an active cover up, a coordinated effort to divert responsibility, and blame the fans who had been so horrifically impacted by the events of the 15th of April 1989.
“Liverpool fans were blamed for attending late and without tickets. Liverpool fans were blamed for being allegedly drunk, being described as lager louts or animals by police. Liverpool fans were blamed for forcing a gate to enter the stadium. Horrific lies about Liverpool fans urinating on police and stealing from the dead were peddled in the media, no names mentioned.
“After decades of fighting to right the countless wrongs of that day, and counter the disgusting lies peddled by many in the establishment, finally, there’s an acceptance the events of that tragic day were as a result of a failure of police control, with South Yorkshire Police failing in its responsibilities to both plan for the event and police it.
“Sadly, as we enter the 37th year since the tragedy, it remains a fact that no individual has been held accountable in the eyes of the law.
“At the time of the disaster, Norman Bettison was a Chief Inspector of South Yorkshire Police. He was also at the stadium as a spectator on the day, and responded to the emerging situation by helping organise an information point for those trying to find missing family and friends, he was further involved in various aspects of South Yorkshire Police’s response to the disaster, including the production of the proof of evidence and compiling a video which he presented to MPs.
“This was all made clear in the published IOPC investigation into Hillsborough. As we all know, in 1998 Bettison applied to become Chief Constable of Merseyside Police. Rightly, his appointment was met with protests and was subject to review. But at the time, Bettison provided assurances that his role was not a significant one, and his appointment stood.
“In 2007 Bettison was appointed to the role of Chief Constable at West Yorkshire Police, and in 2012 when the Hillsborough investigation panel published its report, Bettison was named in it.
“Through that force, he issued a response, stating, and I quote: 'Fans behaviour, to the extent that it was relevant at all, made the job of the police in the crush outside Leppings Lane turnstiles harder than it needed to be.'
“His statement has been the subject of a conduct investigation by the IOPC, which has concluded that there were inaccuracies in his statement and another statement made by him, and if had he still been a serving officer, he would have had a case to answer for gross misconduct, as they were deemed, a deliberate attempt to mislead the public.
“It’s clear to me, and I’m sure it’s clear to every member in this chamber, that Norman Bettison is unfit to hold the honour of Knighthood. I would go so far as to say it brings the whole honour system into disrepute.
“As it’s highly unlikely that he will hand back the knighthood at his own volition, I call on the whole of the council to support this motion, calling for him to be stripped of the honour, and in a similar vein, given the findings of the IOPC investigation, consideration must be given to removing his pension from him also.”
The motion was seconded by Cllr Harry Bell, himself a survivor of the Hillsborough disaster, who gave a short but highly emotional speech supporting Cllr Lonergan’s statement, he said: “[As a] survivor from that day, along with a couple of others in here, justice has got to be done. Full justice.
“What Jane said tonight is true. We need to look at this. It needs to be sent to the government, and he needs his title taken of him.”
The motion was passed unanimously.