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Investigation

Investigative work is ongoing with a focus on the matters that are a priority for the inquests. The key priority is the issues around the amendments to statements. The Hillsborough Independent Panel report identified 164 statements which had been changed.

IPCC investigators have undertaken a detailed analysis of these statements and this has allowed us to specifically identify the amendments and alterations that have been made. In conjunction with the investigation team, being led by Jon Stoddart, we have developed an interview plan with advice from the Crown Prosecution Service for all these officers, with the aim of beginning the interview process in late July. These will be joint interviews conducted by the two investigation teams.

In addition the review work has identified an additional 55 officers whose statements appear to

have been amended. Detailed analysis work is being undertaken in relation to these before an interview plan is developed.

The IPCC investigation team has also been analysing contact from a number of members of the public to identify people who need to be spoken to. The IPCC’s Hillsborough Contact Team has received more than 230 pieces of correspondence since October 2012 and within that are more than 50 relating to statements. Investigators have been sifting through this correspondence to identify key people who need to be spoken to.

However the IPCC knows the people who have contacted us are the tip of the iceberg. Therefore preparations are ongoing for an appeal for witnesses to the disaster and this is expected to be conducted in the autumn. The preparations will include work with appropriate agencies to provide welfare support where needed to those who will have to recount the traumatic events of 15 April 1989.

This is the latest update on the IPCC’s work in relation to the investigations into the Hillsborough disaster and its aftermath.

We are prioritising work for the coroner and, in particular, the issues surrounding the amendments to statements by 164 officers as outlined in the Hillsborough Independent Panel Report.

We will begin interviewing these officers this month. This work is being done jointly with Jon Stoddart’s team.

In addition, we have identified more statements that have been altered and further analysis is ongoing in relation to this.

The work to recover and analyse documents is ongoing and we now have around 97% of the documents seen by the Panel in our possession or secured. We expect to transfer all the documents from the Sheffield Archive to our offices at Renaissance House in Warrington by the end of July.

The IPCC’s section of Renaissance House is now complete and operational with a range of staff, including investigators, legal and communications based there.

Deborah GlassDeputy ChairIndependent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC)

11 July 2013

11 July 2013

Major incident room

The process of verifying documentation received is ongoing. This process entails checking original documents for validity, cross referencing them with electronic copies to ensure there are no differences, identifying any new documents and generating actions for investigators to follow up on.

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Document recovery

The work to recover the documents provided to the Hillsborough Independent Panel is ongoing. The IPCC has now secured or recovered 97% of the documentation originally supplied to the panel and identified additional documentation not previously disclosed.

The IPCC has begun the transfer of documents to a new archive storage in Renaissance House, Warrington. One store room is now full of documentation, including information relating to statements and post mortems, and plans have been prepared to transfer all the remaining documents in the Sheffield Archive to Warrington in late July.

Liaison work has continued with West Midlands Police in relation to documentation. West Midlands Police believed all its documentation in relation to Hillsborough was stored in the South Yorkshire Police

archive. However two sets of documents have been located by West Midlands Police on their premises since the publication of the HIP report. As a result of this discovery the IPCC, which is investigating West Midlands Police’s role in the initial investigation into the disaster, has asked for confirmation that there are no further documents in existence. West Midlands Police will now conduct a thorough search to determine whether there is any additional documentation in existence and, if found, this will be handed over to the IPCC. The IPCC will be monitoring the progress of these searches closely.

Work is ongoing in relation to those organisations which did not contribute to the Hillsborough Independent Panel. The Home Office has advised us of reasons why certain organisations did not contribute, and follow up work is now ongoing with those organisations that are believed to hold documentation.

Renaissance House, Warrington

Liaison

We are devoting significant amounts of time to reviewing and providing the Coroner’s team with material from our archive and following up on lines of enquiry for them – for example, ensuring they have all post mortem information (whether from the archive or elsewhere).

In addition, liaison is ongoing with Jon Stoddart’s team and the CPS over investigation plans, interview strategies and identifying potential criminal offences.

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11 July 2013

Recruitment

Recruitment is ongoing. In the last week, two permanent senior investigators have been recruited and this is expected to be followed by six deputy senior investigators within the next month. The rolling recruitment for investigators will see more than 25 being interviewed by mid August.

Sixty staff, covering investigators, major incident room staff, lawyers and communications staff, have now been recruited to the team.

Recruitment for such a large, complex investigation is not a quick and easy process, particularly as it is important that we recruit the right people for the IPCC and the work required. We anticipate having a team of 70-100 staff when at full complement. The recruitment is an ongoing process and new staff are being appointed or beginning work on a regular basis.

Premises

The IPCC’s areas of Renaissance House in Warrington are now fully operational.

Document archive in Renaissance House, Warrington

IPCC in the news

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IPCC asks Crown Prosecution Service to reconsider Azelle Rodney case

MPS officer sacked after saying young black man will ‘always be a nigger’

IPCC concludes GMP shooting investigation and passes file to CPS

IPCC concludes nine Hampshire Constabulary officers have a case to answer for misconduct following Jamie Dack investigation

Contact us

This bulletin is produced by the Hillsborough Communications team.

For more information please contact Ian Christon, Hillsborough Communications Manager on 0161 246 8582 or email ian.christon@ipcc.gsi.gov.uk