Police watchdogs will appeal for witnesses to the Hillsborough disaster today in the next step of their investigation.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is launching the search for witnesses in its ongoing investigation, after last September's damning report by the Hillsborough Independent Panel.
The report found that South Yorkshire Police orchestrated a cover-up, falsified documents and blamed innocent Liverpool supporters in the aftermath of the Leppings Lane crush in April 1989.
The lives of 41 fans could have been saved, the report concluded, as it cleared supporters of any wrongdoing or blame for the disaster.
The IPCC will ask for witnesses to come forward who gave witness statements to West Midlands Police who ran their own inquiry into the handling of the disaster by South Yorkshire Police.
Around 12,000 people spoke to West Midlands Police as part of their inquiry but it is thought some of these witness statements may have been altered.
In a separate development, more than 90 police pocket notebooks that could contain crucial new information about the disaster have been recovered by IPCC investigators, after they were handed over by retired and serving officers of South Yorkshire Police.
The force has also found boxes of notebooks and other documents that cover the period of the disaster, which could contain vital information.
Last September's independent report led to a public apology by Prime Minister David Cameron, the quashing of the original inquest verdicts, the resignation of a chief constable and the launch of two further investigations into the disaster, with criminal prosecutions of individuals and corporate bodies not ruled out.
The IPCC will make a public appeal for witnesses at a press conference in Warrington, Cheshire, later today.
Source: Liverpool Echo
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