Hillsborough latest: Up to 2,444 police to be investigated, unseen documents revealed, more people come forward

Nov 14 2012 By David Bartlett

THE ROLE of up to 2,444 police officers in the Hillsborough disaster and the cover-up will be investigated it was revealed, as it emerged not all documents have been disclosed.

Senior figures from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) appeared before the Home Affairs Committee in parliament yesterday to update MPs on investigations.

The IPCC had already said 1,444 police officers were in the spotlight but chief executive Jane Furniss said that was "just the start of it, there are going to be significantly more people listed from South Yorkshire".

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She said up to an estimated 1,000 more officers were expected to be probed from South Yorkshire, West Midlands (which investigated South Yorkshire after the disaster), and 18 other forces.

Later yesterday evening the IPCC confirmed that the figure was higher, and that 25 forces plus South Yorkshire Police are involved. Three of those forces are involved in a "significant" way.

The IPCC will look into the role of these officers to decide whether they merit full investigation.

In addition Ms Furniss revealed it was now clear that not all documents relating to the 1989 disaster that claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool fans had been disclosed.

Ms Furness said: "It is also important for the committee to know the panel did not receive all the documents that are actually available.

"More documents have come to light since the panel issued its report.

"Because of the level of contact we are now having with families, bereaved families, and survivors we are already hearing quite significant members of the public who were at the match who said I tried to make a statement and wasn't alllowed to, or I made a statement and the that is on the website isn't the statement I made, or I was bullied into withdrawing information.

"There is new information coming to light after us announcing what we are doing."

South Yorkshire Police, which oversaw the discredited Hillsborough operation, has passed on details of 25 forces that had officers present on the day and that were involved in the aftermath.

Read More: Re-read our Hillsborough live blog from the committee this afternoon, to see the updates as they happened

IPCC chair Dame Anne Owers said the first phase of the investigation was focused on obtaining documents seen by the Hillsborough Independent Panel, which have been sent back to the authorities that held the paperwork.

The original documents will then have to be collated onto a computer system and the process is expected to take months, she added.

Committee chairman Keith Vaz asked if the IPCC had enough resources to carry out the huge investigation.

Ms Furniss said: "The Home Secretary has made it very clear to both Dame Anne and I personally that we must have the resources we need to do this piece of work.

"We are certainly asking for it. We are identifying what we need. There will be different resources needed at different points in the investigation."