Liverpool FC Forum

If you are interested in justice for the victims of Hillsborough, as I'm sure you all are, then please sign this petition and get everyone you know to sign it too.
We must not allow this creature to ride off into the sunset, laughing his way to a life of leisure while pi'ssing on the graves of the 96.
Get involved please and make it your business to bring him to account. Put it on your status, twitter, e-mail, other forums- everything you can

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/39775

Thanks

Done. 839.

Can people just put this on hold please as it has been pointed out that the date should read october 4th instead of september 4th?
I am waiting on advise from government office

Cheers

I've signed it. How many signatures does this require to get a response from Theresa May?

Boxscarf » Fri Oct 12, 2012 10:27 am wrote:I've signed it. How many signatures does this require to get a response from Theresa May?

It requires 10,000 to get a response off the government
The mistake with the date is not a problem so everyone get signing!

Signed and put on fb. Should get to 10,000 by monday morning

Hillsborough probe 'to be UK's biggest into police conduct'Deborah Glass: "We will do everything in our power to investigate these allegations."
Continue reading the main story
Hillsborough papersChief apologises over statement
Thatcher row over police cover-up
Key excerpts
Key findings

The biggest ever independent investigation into police wrongdoing is to be carried out following a damning report into the Hillsborough disaster.

The IPCC police watchdog and director of public prosecutions have announced they will both launch inquiries into possible crimes committed by police.

The IPCC said both serving and former officers would be investigated over the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans in 1989.

The Hillsborough Family Support Group said it was "too good to be true".

The Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer will review evidence relating to how the 96 fans died, which could lead to charges of manslaughter through gross negligence.

Meanwhile, the IPCC said it would look at whether there was a criminal cover-up by South Yorkshire Police of failings by the force.

A "large number" of current and former officers now face investigation over claims made in a report on the Hillsborough disaster, the IPCC said.

The Hillsborough Independent Panel last month revealed 164 police statements were altered - 116 of them to remove or change negative comments about the policing of the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at the Sheffield stadium.

It said police and emergency services had made "strenuous attempts" to deflect the blame for the disaster on to fans.

The panel also found that 41 of the 96 who died had the "potential to survive" and calls have been made for fresh inquests.

'Potential criminal offences'

Deborah Glass, deputy chair of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), said "without a shadow of a doubt" it would be the biggest ever investigation carried out into police behaviour in the UK.

Both South Yorkshire Police, who dealt with the tragedy, and West Midlands Police, who investigated how South Yorkshire handled the disaster, will come under scrutiny.

Continue reading the main story 
Analysis
Dominic Casciani

Home affairs correspondent

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The scale of what the IPCC has announced is completely unprecedented.

There's never been an independent police investigation in the UK into multiple forces, in which the key allegations include perverting the course of justice - one of the most serious crimes that could be committed by a sworn officer.

What's not clear at the moment is how many officers, serving and former, will come under investigation and how long it will take.

The second key issue will be whether, after all these years, investigators will be able to build cases that will reach the criminal standard of proof required for prosecutions.

This is just the first step on the long legal road to justice in the wake of the Hillsborough Panel Report.

The next important decision will come from the attorney general.

He will decide whether to ask the high court to reopen the inquests.

Read more from Dominic

Sir Norman Bettison, currently Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, has been referred to the IPCC over allegations that he provided misleading information after the tragedy.

It has also been revealed that he is also under investigation for allegations that he "attempted to influence the decision-making process of the West Yorkshire Police Authority in connection with the referral that they had made", Ms Glass said.

She added: "The potential criminal and misconduct offences disclosed by the panel's report fall into two broad categories.

"They are the allegations that go to the heart of what happened at Hillsborough in April 1989 and individuals and institutions may be culpable for the deaths, and there are allegations about what happened after the disaster, that evidence was fabricated and misinformation was spread in an attempt to shift blame."

West Yorkshire Police said Sir Norman was "keen to co-operate with the IPCC inquiry".

Responding to the news of the inquiries, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said everything the families of Hillsborough victims had said was justified and added: "You need truth, then you need to use the truth against people who did some very bad and wrong things."

Allegations that statements were altered and that misleading information was passed to the media and MPs will be investigated and could lead to police misconduct and criminal charges, Ms Glass said.

Claims that officers questioned bereaved next of kin about their loved ones' alcohol consumption, carried out alcohol testing and checked the police national computer to find information about the dead and injured could also lead to charges.

Continue reading the main story 
Hillsborough papers: Key excerpts

Liverpool FC said the inquiries were "another significant step forward in the campaign for justice for Hillsborough families and survivors".

Anne Williams, mother of 15-year-old Kevin Williams who died at Hillsborough, said: "This is really good news. Good news that they are moving quickly to save us any more heartache.

"I welcome it and I know it's going to be a long process, but at least they are getting the ball moving."

Sue Roberts, the secretary of the Hillsborough Family Support Group (HFSG), said she was "amazed" and "very pleased" by the announcements.

'More waiting ahead'

"I just hope it all goes through, it seems too good to be true at the moment," she said.

"I haven't heard the full detail yet but it just seems as though everything is going in our favour so fingers crossed it continues in that vein for a change."

"We've had 23 years of waiting" - Margaret Aspinall, Hillsborough Families Support Group
Margaret Aspinall, the group's chairwoman, who lost her son James in the disaster, said she believed "all the families would be quite pleased" with the development.

She said: "We have more waiting ahead of us but we have had 23 years of waiting.

"I'm hoping it's going to be sooner rather than later, as I'm a lot older now, I was a relatively young woman at the time, I'm now an old age pensioner."

She added: "I'm just praying, this time, the job will be done thoroughly."

A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: "Sir Norman Bettison has consistently made the point since 15 September, three days after the report was published, that these were matters that needed to be investigated formally and fairly by the IPCC.

'Outcome families deserve'

"At the time, he immediately welcomed the police authority's decision to refer this matter.

"He is on record as saying he is keen to co-operate with the IPCC inquiry, but now that has been launched, he has nothing further to add."

Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, Chris Sims, said: "I welcome today's decision by the IPCC to look into the role of West Midlands Police following the tragedy at Hillsborough in 1989.

The IPCC will probe allegations that Sir Norman Bettison provided misleading information
"As chief constable I read the Hillsborough Independent Panel Report and immediately referred West Midlands Police to the IPCC.

"Today, the IPCC have accepted that referral and West Midlands Police will give their full support to the IPCC investigation."

The Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said: "The families have waited 23 years to obtain justice and this announcement sets the wheels in motion at long last.

"I sincerely hope that no stone will be left unturned in delivering the outcome that the families deserve.

"I also welcome the fact that they and the Independent Police Complaints Commission will be investigating both former and serving South Yorkshire Police officers, including Sir Norman Bettison.

"The part he and others played, revealed by the independent panel's report, showed that there must be a full investigation into their role in the cover-up."

That is fantastic news, but dont forget this could be another 2-3 years before anything happens
Bettison will be well into retirement by then which is why we need to get the government to stop him slipping away scot free

Thommo's perm » Fri Oct 12, 2012 2:20 pm wrote:That is fantastic news, but dont forget this could be another 2-3 years before anything happens
Bettison will be well into retirement by then which is why we need to get the government to stop him slipping away scot free

from what newsnight said the other week is that if he is found to be at fault he can still be sacked even if he is into his retirement. by that i take it that he will stop getting money from them.

lakes10 » Fri Oct 12, 2012 1:23 pm wrote:

Thommo's perm » Fri Oct 12, 2012 2:20 pm wrote:That is fantastic news, but dont forget this could be another 2-3 years before anything happens
Bettison will be well into retirement by then which is why we need to get the government to stop him slipping away scot free

from what newsnight said the other week is that if he is found to be at fault he can still be sacked even if he is into his retirement. by that i take it that he will stop getting money from them.

I just dont want people to think that because he is going to be investigated everythings ok. He still shouldnt be allowed to dictate when he wants to retire on a full pension. The cheeky, arrogant, despicable cu'nt!

Signed.

The whole thing leaves a very bad taste but the most sickening thing around Bettinson is the fact that he will be picking up £88k a year in pension which apparently will be paid for by the people of LIVERPOOL!!!

THAT should be even more incentive for people to sign up to this petition.

done

Thommo's perm » Fri Oct 12, 2012 1:20 pm wrote:That is fantastic news, but dont forget this could be another 2-3 years before anything happens
Bettison will be well into retirement by then which is why we need to get the government to stop him slipping away scot free

I am 99.9% certain that Bettison actually retired when he was the Chief Constable of Merseyside on a very substantial police pension several years ago back in 2005 when he was approaching age 50. He then took up a position as Chief Executive with Centrex prior to becoming Chief Constable of Yorkshire in 2007 when Centrex was abolished.To the best of my knowledge he will not receive an additional pension in respect of his service from 2007.

SIR NORMAN BETTISON’S pension will be paid by Merseyside taxpayers – “rubbing more salt in the wounds” of Hillsborough families.

The ECHO can also reveal he was handed a £60,000 pay rise by his bosses in West Yorkshire when Merseyside Police refused to pay his pension in 2007.

His £225,000 salary in West Yorkshire makes him one of the best paid police chiefs in the country.

He has earned more than £1m since taking the job on the other side of the Pennines.

But when he retires in March – a decision announced on Thursday having effectively being forced out after revelations in the Hillsborough Independent Panel report – his pension will have to be paid by Merseyside Police.

Mr Bettison was chief constable of Merseyside between 1998 and 2004, and will be entitled to an annual pension estimated at £88,000 – two thirds of his £134,000 salary when he left.

Merseyside Police Authority chairman Cllr Bill Weightman said the force had no choice – but if convicted of any crime in relation to the Hillsborough disaster an application could be made to the Home Office to strip Mr Bettison of 65% of his pension.

Margaret Aspinall, chair of Hillsborough Family Support Group, said: “This is a disgrace, the more and more I hear, the more I am shocked.”

Sheila Coleman, of the Hillsborough Justice Campaign, said: “Talk about rubbing salt in the wounds.

“The families have paid a high price in their pursuit of the truth, Mr Bettison is just paid a high price.”

Mr Bettison denies any wrongdoing, but said his planned retirement in March will allow the Independent Police Complaints Commission to carry out their investigation into his conduct.

His contract was due to run until 2015, but West Yorkshire Police authority effectively lost confidence in Mr Bettison after the panel highlighted his role in the aftermath of the 1989 disaster.

Mr Bettison left Merseyside in 2004 to become chief executive of Centrex, the private company responsible for training the country’s fledgling officers, and became entitled to an annual pension estimated at £88,000

Read More http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/Liverpool ... z2965xxZi3

But when in January 2007 he returned to regular policing as Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, on a salary of £153,000, Merseyside police refused to pay his pension.

This sparked a legal battle with Mr Bettison as he attempted to secure a pay-and-pension deal of about £240,000.

After threatening to take Merseyside Police to the High Court to secure his pension payments, he backed down when it became clear he could not win.

In May 2007 West Yorkshire Police Authority made a “locally agreed package” with Mr Bettison and gave him a £60,000 pay rise.

During his time at West Yorkshire Mr Bettison has not been entitled to accrue any more pension entitlements.

Merseyside Police Authority chairman Cllr Bill Weightman revealed that Mr Bettison was forced into a retreat in his fight with the authority over his pension.

“He threatened us with a judicial review. We had the backing of the Home Office so he backed down.

“There is no doubt we would have won and it would have been very expensive for him.”

Cllr Weightman said Merseyside would become responsible for paying his pension once more when he retires in March.

But he said whoever becomes Merseyside’s first Police and Crime Commissioner in November (an election that will see the end of the police authority) should look at docking his pension if Mr Bettison is ever found guilty of a crime in relation to Hillsborough.

“The commissioner will be able to apply for an order to take away 65% of his pension if that happened.”

Cllr Weightman became chairman of Merseyside Police Authority in 2004, months before Mr Bettison’s departure.

He added: “I never liked him. He had a style which was ‘I am chief constable and I do what I want to do’. It was a constant fight.”

Read More http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2012/10/06/merseyside-taxpayers-will-pay-norman-bettison-s-annual-88-000-pension-100252-31977916/2/#ixzz29664zeNQ

SOURCE: Liverpool Echo

I can't sign it as I don't live in the UK.