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Two police forces have agreed to pay damages to more than 600 people after a cover-up following the Hillsborough disaster, lawyers have said.
The South Yorkshire and West Midlands forces agreed the settlement following a civil claim for misfeasance in a public office on behalf of 601 claimants, solicitors representing the victims said.
It comes despite nobody ever being convicted over the cover-up following the tragedy, in which 96 Liverpool fans died at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final match at Hillsborough stadium.
A spokesman for Saunders Law, the lead solicitors for the group litigation, said the claim was started in 2015 and agreed in April, but could not be reported until the conclusion of the trial involving former police and legal officials.
South Yorkshire Police chief superintendent Donald Denton, 83, retired detective chief inspector Alan Foster, 74, and Peter Metcalf, 71, who acted as solicitor for the force, were accused of amending police officers’ statements to minimise blame on the force.
The three men were each cleared of two counts of perverting the course of justice last week after a judge ruled there was no case to answer.
The Saunders Law spokesman said the 601 claimants had “sought justice and accountability for the deliberate, orchestrated and thoroughly dishonest police cover-up that suppressed the truth about the responsibility of the police”.
The spokesman added: “The settlement of these claims marks the end of an unparalleled and extraordinary fight for justice by the victims and their families.”
The 1989 disaster at Sheffield Wednesday’s stadium was investigated by West Midlands Police. Lawyers said the cover-up had caused additional psychiatric injury to the survivors of the disaster and the families of those who died.
In 2012, then-chief constable of South Yorkshire Police David Crompton apologised for a cover-up following the publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel report.
New inquests, which concluded in 2016, found that the 96 men, women and children who died were unlawfully killed and fans played no part in the causes of the disaster.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham (left) and Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram (right) with Hillsborough campaigner Margaret Aspinall
(PA)
In the statement, Saunders Law said there had been “an almost complete failure of the justice system to deliver justice” and called on the government to implement a Hillsborough Law – which would include a duty of candour for public officials.
The spokesman said: “We trust that this settlement will put an end to any fresh attempts to rewrite the record and wrongly claim that there was no cover-up.”
The law firm said the police forces will pay damages to compensate each claimant for injuries they suffered and provide access to a treatment fund for further psychiatric treatment or counselling. In cases where claimants have died, the compensation will be paid to their estate.
Additional reporting by Press Association
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