Club, police and council could face Hillsborough manslaughter charges

THE new criminal investigation into the Hillsborough disaster could lead to manslaughter charges for Sheffield Wednesday, South Yorkshire Police and Sheffield Council, according to the detective heading up the inquiry.
By The Newsroom
Published 13th Sep 2013, 01:01 BST

Jon Stoddart, former chief constable of the Durham force, said all three organisations and the Football Association were being investigated for possible “gross negligence manslaughter”.

He was put in charge of the new investigation into the 1989 disaster, where 96 Liverpool fans died, after last year’s report by the Hillsborough Independent Panel.

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Speaking for the first time about what he labelled a criminal inquiry of “unprecedented scale”, he said his team were not just exploring the possible culpability of the police.

He told The Guardian: “We are exploring all liability, both public and individual. We are looking at unlawful killing; who is responsible for the deaths.”

Mr Stoddart said more was being looked at than just command and control of the crowd, adding: “It is about the safety of the stadium, certification, the planning and preparation, the engineering and design that went into the Leppings Lane end [where the supporters died].”

South Yorkshire Police chief constable David Crompton said the force shared the desire of victims’ families for Mr Stoddart and the Independent Police Complaints Commission “to undertake their enquiries thoroughly and as swiftly as possible”.

Sheffield Wednesday declined to comment, while the Football Association and Sheffield City Council said they were “co-operating fully”.