Chief constable faces probe over Hillsborough emails

Shaun Wright, South Yorkshire’s police commissioner, has set up an inquiry after receiving a complaint from solicitors representing victims of the 1989 tragedy over emails sent by David Crompton.

The chief constable said he believed the episode had been “completely closed” when he apologised after the emails emerged in February.

The controversy revolves around a message sent to senior staff last year which appeared to suggest a campaign group representing families of those who died was not telling the full truth about the tragedy. The email was sent as part of the force’s preparations for the publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel report.

The email read: “One thing is certain – the Hillsborough Campaign for Justice will be doing their version ... in fact their version of certain events has become ‘the truth’ even though it isn’t!!

“I just have the feeling that the media ‘machine’ favours the families and not us, so we need to be a bit more innovative in our response to have a fighting chance otherwise we will just be roadkill.”

Mr Wright has appointed the chief constable of Cambridgeshire, Simon Parr, to investigate.

Mr Crompton said: “In February this year I apologised for the wording of an email. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) looked into the matter at the request of the commissioner and publicly concluded that no formal disciplinary proceedings were justified.

“Nothing has changed since then. No new material is available now which was not available in February.

“I had understood the matter to be completely closed but will co-operate fully with any investigation if requested to do so.”