A detailed picture of how the evidence of junior police officers present at the Hillsborough football disaster was systematically distorted can be revealed today, as an independent panel prepared to deliver the findings of the exhaustive investigation into the afternoon which claimed the lives of 96 fans.
The Independent has obtained four previously unpublished witness statements written by police constables, who were all on duty at the Leppings Lane end on the disastrous day of Liverpool’s FA Cup semi final with Nottingham Forest in 1989. They show how the documents, originally prepared for an internal inquiry, were altered prior to Lord Taylor’s official inquiry later that year to ensure that South Yorkshire Police emerged from the tragedy in a significantly more positive light.
The testimony of one constable, 31 year-old Martin McLoughlin, was crossed through so two paragraphs of criticises were entirely deleted. PC McLoughlin, who had nine years’ service with the force, described how police had “appeared to be a bit thin on the ground for the numbers of people involved” on the fateful afternoon of 15 April 1989. He also detailed how officers on duty at the stadium had a “poor supply of personal radios” when the catastrophic decision to allow fans to enter the Leppings Lane end through an exit gate led to many being...
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