Police chief denies Hillsborough cover-up
By politics.co.uk staff
South Yorkshire’s chief constable last night denied there was any cover-up by police over the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans at Hillsborough.
Speaking to BBC Look North, Meredydd Hughes claimed they held up to 300 boxes of data on the tragedy but said he would be “highly surprised” if there was anything in them which would cause a reappraisal of the disaster.
“South Yorkshire police has no secrets, has a lot of information that we hope can be made public and, if it’s possible to do so, we will,” he said.
“If I thought there had been a cover-up I would already have dealt with it. I don’t need an anniversary to make me want to put right an injustice.
“I didn’t join the police force to be part of conspiracies and cover-ups and I never have done.”
Last week home secretary Jacqui Smith said it may be possible to release documents relating to the disaster ten years ahead of schedule.
Sensitive documents are usually subject to a 30-year embargo but it is understood Ms Smith, following a discussion with Mr Hughes, asked for that period to be waived.
Trevor Hicks, of the Hillsborough Families Support Group, said: “This will enable us to see the full picture of events in a way that we have been denied for 20 years.
“It is vital that these files are released in full and not sanitised in any way.”
Relatives of the victims have fought a 20-year legal battle to get all the information held by police on the event to be released.
