Cabinet Office in response to call for Bettison to lose knighthood

H'BORO FAMILIES SAY HIS HOLDING OF HONOURS 'TAINTS THEM'

- By LIAM THORP

FAMILIES of the victims of the Hillsborough disaster have received a new update in their efforts to try and have the honours afforded to former police chief Norman Bettison removed, after he was heavily criticised in a new report into the 1989 disaster.

Bettison was a chief inspector with South Yorkshire Police (SYP) at the time of the tragedy, which would result in the unlawful deaths of 97 Liverpool fans who travelled to Sheffield on April 15, 1989 to watch the Reds take on Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup semifinal.

In a major new report from the Independent Office for Police Conduct, released this week, the police watchdog named 12 former police officers who it says would have faced a case for gross misconduct over their actions during and after the disaster, were they still serving today.