Bettison could have faced two charges

Mr Burns-Williamson announced on Tuesday that Sir Norman should step down, following Monday night’s Commons debate, when the Yorkshire-born Merseyside MP Maria Eagle quoted a “contemporaneous account” from a civil servant that Sir Norman had “boasted” of “a plot to fit up Liverpool fans”.

Sir Norman used his parting statement to insist he has “never blamed the fans for causing the tragedy”, and said he “refuted”
the allegations made in Parliament.

“Really the campaign should be about policing in West Yorkshire and the future direction for the force,” Mr Burns-Williamson said.

“The issue around Sir Norman Bettison was he was becoming the election issue rather than the policing of West Yorkshire and that cannot be right.

“We do need to get on and continue forward.”

Sir Norman had previously defied repeated calls for him to quit after the panel revealed details of his role in South Yorkshire Police’s now-discredited response to the tragedy, in which 96 Liverpool fans were killed.

But pressure mounted after he released a widely-condemned statement claiming the fans had “made the police’s job harder than it needed to be”. His resignation marks the first departure of any senior public figure in the wake of the Hillsborough report.

A fund-raising single to help the Hillsborough families with legal costs is to compete in the race for the Christmas number one. Musicians including Sheffield’s Richard Hawley, Paul Heaton from Hull, and Sixties chart-topper Gerry Marsden are performing The Hollies’ hit He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.