Background and Summary Hillsborough
10.The publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel's report on 12 September 2012(4) exposed a number of significant failures by the police and associated shortcomings in the police investigation that followed the disaster at the Hillsborough stadium on 15 April 1989, in which 96 men, women and children lost their lives.
11.In light of this report, the Prime Minister made a statement apologising to the families of the Hillsborough victims for what he called the “double injustice”(5) they suffered. In the first instance, this injustice was manifested in the tragic events which took place on that day in April 1989 and the time it has taken for the truth about what happened on that day to be made public. The Prime Minister referred to the second injustice as the “denigration of the deceased” - the suggestion that those who died were culpable for their own demise. This resulted in calls for an urgent investigation into allegations of criminality and misconduct by the police linked to the Hillsborough tragedy.
12.In October 2012, the IPCC published its Decision in response to the report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel (6) setting out the matters it will be investigating. In this, it confirms that it received referrals from the South Yorkshire Police, West Midlands Police and West Yorkshire Police Authority in relation to Hillsborough. It further makes clear that despite the fact that it does “not have investigative powers over all of the parties referred to in the report”, its desire is to “go forward in the spirit of the Panel’s work, to seek to ensure that there is a coordinated approach that can encompass all the issues, agencies and individuals involved, and which liaises closely with the families”.
13.The Independent Panel’s report was further debated by the House of Commons on 22 October 2012(7). In that debate, the Home Secretary gave a commitment to ensuring that the IPCC had the powers and resources it needs to carry out its investigations into Hillsborough “thoroughly, transparently and exhaustively”(8). Amongst other things, the Home Secretary indicated that the Government was examining proposals to require officers who may be a witness to a matter under investigation to attend an interview with IPCC investigators and whether this might require fast-track legislation. In that debate, the Shadow Home Secretary indicated that she supported the case for exploring such fast-track legislation.
14.This Act equips the IPCC with additional powers to: (a) require an individual, who is currently serving with the police or an additional police body, to attend an interview during the course of an investigation; and (b) investigate a matter which was previously the subject of an investigation by its predecessor, the PCA or was otherwise dealt with under earlier legislation.