Hillsborough: Results Of Watchdog Review Due

The police watchdog will announce later what action it plans to take following a damning report on the Hillsborough disaster.

Last month an exhaustive review of the tragedy alleged officers staged a shocking cover-up in an attempt to shift blame on to the 96 victims.

The Hillsborough Independent Panel, which was given access to 450,000 documents, found that 164 police statements were altered, 116 of them to remove or change negative comments about the policing of the match and the aftermath.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it would review the panel's findings as well as those of previous inquiries into the tragedy, which saw Liverpool fans crushed to death at Hillsborough Stadium in 1989.

However, if the IPCC's predecessor, the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), has already investigated certain matters it could stop the IPCC from looking at them again.

After the report was published, a complaint was made to the IPCC that Sir Norman Bettison, who was a chief inspector in South Yorkshire at the time, had supplied misleading information in the wake of the disaster.

A second element of the complaint was over comments made by Sir Norman, currently Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, after the report was published.

He said that Liverpool fans' behaviour made policing the tragedy "harder than it needed to be", sparking furious calls for him to resign.

Last week Sir Norman announced that he is to retire in March, saying: "Recent weeks have caused me to reflect on what is best for the future of policing in West Yorkshire and I have now decided to set a firm date for my retirement."

He said he hoped his departure would allow the IPCC to "fully investigate allegations that have been raised about my integrity".

Sir Norman had previously denied altering any statements or asking for any to be altered. An officer cannot be subject to misconduct proceedings after they have retired.

Relatives of those who died welcomed Sir Norman's decision to retire, but his service in policing was defended by senior officer Sir Hugh Orde.

Margaret Aspinall, who lost her 18-year-old son James and is chairwoman of the Hillsborough Families Support Group, said: "I'm absolutely delighted that he's going."