No probe into whether Yorkshire police blamed Liverpool fans for Hillsborough disaster

The Independent Police Complaints Commission said that while the approach of some of the legal teams “clearly caused distress” to the victims’ families, there was no evidence of crime and investigators could not access details of legal discussions.

Dr Alan Billings: My right to ask chief constable David Crompton to resign over Hillsborough

South Yorkshire Chief Constable ‘unfairly dismissed over Hillsborough’

Suspended South Yorkshire Police Chief Constable David Crompton was criticised by Hillsborough campaigners for the stance taken by lawyers representing the police during the two-year-long hearings.

The inquests, which found that the 96 victims of the disaster had been unlawfully killed, were the longest jury cases in British legal history.

In the wake of the verdicts then-shadow home secretary Andy Burnham accused South Yorkshire Police of ‘’protecting itself above protecting people’’ during the hearings, and said that the families had been ‘’through hell again’’ during the protracted case.

He said that millions of pounds of public money had been used to continue a ‘’cover-up’’ and retell ‘’discredited lies against Liverpool supporters’’.

The IPCC said any inquiry into the instructions claimed to have been given by Mr Crompton would be “significantly hampered” as investigators would not legally be allowed access to communications between the officer and force lawyers.

IPCC Deputy Chair Rachel Cerfontyne said: “The approach taken by some legal teams at the inquests clearly caused distress among those affected by the disaster.

“However, the evidence we have assessed doesn’t indicate that a criminal or misconduct offence has occurred.

“This, combined with the fact we cannot review any legal instructions from Mr Crompton to his legal team has led me to conclude that an IPCC investigation could not provide any meaningful response to the complaint.”

Allegations that press officer Hayley Court was told to “spin” news from the inquests in favour of the police are being investigated separately by the watchdog and its findings will be published “in the coming weeks”.

Trevor Hicks, from Silsden in West Yorkshire, whose daughters Sarah and Vicki died in the disaster, said of the decision: “I’m disappointed with it and it looks as though the IPCC has taken the soft option to use what we consider a technicality to brush it away. It’s only going to fuel the discontent with the IPCC, and won’t help the said-to-be genuine desire of South Yorkshire Police to build bridges.”