Hillsborough Cop Denies Plotting To Blame Fans

A former chief inspector from South Yorkshire Police has denied he was part of a plot to blame Liverpool fans for the Hillsborough disaster.

Giving evidence at the inquests into the deaths of the 96 victims Sir Norman Bettison was asked if he had ever claimed his role was to ensure the force took no responsibility - with the blame placed on the fans.

"I did not say anything like that" he responded.

Earlier the inquests had heard that he had boasted about his role in "concocting" a story that all the Liverpool fans were drunk.

John Barry who was studying for a part time MBA at Sheffield Business School in the same class as Norman Bettison at the time of the disaster in 1989 recalled a conversation they'd had the month after the disaster.

Mr Barry told the inquest "Norman said 'I've been asked by my senior officers to pull together the South Yorkshire Police evidence for the inquiry and we're going to try to concoct a story that all of the Liverpool fans were drunk and that we are afraid they were going to break down the gates so we decided to open them'".

"I was stunned. I was just staggered," Mr Barry said. "I was just shocked that he'd said it to me."

He added: "I guess I thought that maybe it was a feather in his cap and an indication of how well he was doing in his job."

Mr Barry said he left the pub shortly afterwards because he was in "a state of distress" from what Sir Norman had said.

Mr Barry had earlier told the inquest that he had been at Hillsborough as a spectator on the day of the disaster and had witnessed the crush and seen the bodies of some of the victims.

After Mr Barry the jury heard from another member of the same MBA class, Mark Ellaby.

Mr Ellaby recalled a separate conversation in the same pub with Norman Bettison. He told the inquests: "I remember Mr Bettison saying he'd just been seconded to an internal team in South Yorkshire Police who were tasked with making sure that South Yorkshire Police bore no blame for the Hillsborough disaster and it was all the fault of he drunken Liverpool supporters."

"I got the impression that he saw it as a positive career advancement. I'd talked to him about his role in South Yorkshire Police generally and it was clear that he was being groomed for sort of more senior leadership.

"It surprised me at the time that there was an internal group within South Yorkshire seemingly looking at covering things up, if that was the case."

Sir Norman will continue to give evidence on Friday.