With new inquests due to take place next year, the search for the truth is becoming more important.
West Midlands Police has vowed to leave “no stone unturned” as it embarks on a rigorous search of its archives for any material relating to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.
The force – which examined South Yorkshire Police’s handling of the disaster which claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool supporters – has already submitted a portfolio of documents and files to the northern force which has been scrutinised by subsequent inquiries. However, recent unrelated searches of secure storage areas within West Midlands Police’s Lloyd House HQ has uncovered two items of material related to Hillsborough. These documents have been passed to the IPCC to help in their investigation of the Hillsborough disaster.
As a result of the find West Midlands Police has announced a rigorous, systematic search of its archives which is expected to take around three months. Specially trained police search officers will scrutinise storage areas at Lloyd House, Nechells Green police station where the force’s investigation of South Yorkshire Police was focused, and other buildings it’s thought relevant material could have been transferred. The force’s official archive storage facility in Derbyshire, where up to 17,000 documents are held, will also be subjected to further examination.
West Midlands Police Deputy Chief Constable Dave Thompson, said: “We are committed to the IPCC’s Hillsborough investigation and supporting the coroner’s inquest into the disaster which is scheduled for early 2014.
“We have no reason to believe West Midlands Police holds any more Hillsborough related material but, due to the recent finds, we want to be able to assert this with the highest degree of confidence to the inquest coroner. That’s why we’ve announced a rigorous, systematic search of all archived material in our buildings; this is a voluntary move initiated by West Midlands Police and demonstrates our commitment to openness and transparency.”We will leave no stone left unturned – if any material relating to Hillsborough remains on West Midlands Police property we are confident the search will uncover it.”
The search process began last week. Any item of interest recovered will be subject to a detailed examination by a search review team, audited and recorded. All searches and document reviews are to be concluded by December ahead of the coroner’s inquest early next year.
Dep Chief Con Mr Thompson, added: “Previous archive searches were carried out when West Midlands Police submitted its Hillsborough material portfolio for scrutiny by inquiry teams. The extent and depth of these earlier checks cannot be validated, though, which is why we’ve taken this step to conduct a systematic, rigorous search ahead of next year’s coroner’s inquest.”
