Police force is accused of post-Hillsborough ‘plot’

Maria Eagle used parliamentary privilege to make the allegation because some statements by police officers were later amended on the advice of lawyers.

Fellow Labour frontbencher Andy Burnham wants papers held by the lawyers – Hammond Suddards, which has since changed its name – to be released as part of the process to reveal hundreds of thousands of documents relating to the 1989 tragedy in Sheffield, which left 96 Liverpool fans dead.

However Andy Holt, South Yorkshire’s temporary deputy chief constable in charge of the force’s release of documents, said he was “disappointed” by Ms Eagle’s claims.

“I have seen no evidence of any sort of cover up or any sort of systemic approach to pervert the course of justice,” he said.

Ms Eagle, MP for Garston and Halewood on Merseyside and Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, made her claim during Monday evening’s emotionally-charged debate in which Parliament backed the release of all Cabinet documents about the disaster in “uncensored” form.

Papers from police, council, ambulance and fire service are also due to be published after they have been examined by an independent panel.

Victims’ families have been campaigning to establish the “truth” behind events at the FA Cup semi-final at the Sheffield stadium.

They accuse police of trying to pass blame onto supporters despite the official inquiry finding the main case was a failure of crowd control.

Ms Eagle claims that the police established a “black propaganda” unit that “systematically set about altering police statements in an attempt to influence Lord Justice Taylor’s inquiry into the causes of the disaster”.

She added: “I have read them all. This was no less than a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

“One cannot read all the statements, amended, unamended and annotated by police lawyers and police, and come to any other conclusion.”

However, Mr Holt said he would “not agree” with the allegations and said any changes to reports made by police in the immediate aftermath of the disaster were made with the knowledge of the Taylor Inquiry.

A subsequent review by Lord Justice Stuart-Smith concluded the inquiry had not been impeded by the changes.

A spokesperson at Squire Sanders Hammonds solicitors said: “The part of Hammond Suddards which dealt with the Hillsborough disaster was demerged from Hammond Suddards in 2000.

“However, we are investigating the position further.”

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