New Hillsborough report: summary of findings of IOPC and Operation Resolve investigations published
Factual summary of a published IOPC investigation, covering the incident, key findings and outcome.
- Published
- 2025-12-02
- Investigation type
- independent
- Force involved
- South Yorkshire Police, West Midlands Police
What was investigated
A report outlines the investigations by the IOPC and Operation Resolve regarding the police's role in the Hillsborough disaster. Complaints were examined, and findings support previous conclusions about the failings of the police forces involved.
Key findings
- The SYP Chief Constable would have a case to answer for gross misconduct, if still serving.
- Nine other SYP officers would also face gross misconduct charges for various failings.
- A WMP assistant chief constable would have a case to answer for gross misconduct.
- A WMP detective chief superintendent would have a case to answer for bias.
- 92 complaints against police actions have been upheld or would have cases to answer.
- 327 statements from officers were found to have been amended.
- The investigation conducted by WMP was deemed wholly unsatisfactory and too narrow.
- The defensive approach of SYP adopted to control evidence was evidenced.
Outcome
The investigations revealed systematic failings within SYP and WMP, with significant misconduct findings and allegations of bias. There is an ongoing need for accountability and learning from past events.
Related on BlueLineHub
- Accountability hub — how oversight of UK policing works
- IOPC outcomes & learning feed
This is a factual summary of a report published by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Individuals are referred to exactly as the source report anonymises them. BlueLineHub is independent and not affiliated with the IOPC · Summarised 2026-07-13.