Hillsborough families: 'No justice but hope for others'

HILLSBOROUGH families have hit back at a police federation's claim that a report into the disaster was a “waste of taxpayers’ time and money”, and said the findings could change things for others in the future.

- ELEANOR BARLOW

Investigations by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and Operation Resolve into the 1989 tragedy and its aftermath began in 2012 and cost more than £150 million.

A report published yesterday found 12 officers would have had a case to answer for gross misconduct - but no disciplinary proceedings will take place because they had all retired when investigations began.

In a statement, South Yorkshire Police Federation said: “The report is a significant waste of taxpayers’ time and taxpayers’ money. It is not fair or balanced.

“Former police officers - some of whom are very elderly and some who have sadly passed away - do not have any kind of due process or the ability to formally respond to the allegations made in this report.”