Hillsborough investigation finds 12 police officers would have faced gross misconduct charges

LONDON (AP) — Twelve police officers would have faced gross misconduct proceedings for their failings during and after the 1989 Hillsborough stadium soccer tragedy, a long-running investigation has found.

In the latest development following Britain’s worst sports disaster which saw 97 people killed during a crush of Liverpool fans, a report — published on Tuesday — also upheld or found cases to answer for misconduct in 92 complaints about police actions.

However, the law at the time means no officers will face disciplinary proceedings because they had all retired before the investigation began in 2012.

“No one should be beaten by the passage of time,” said Steve Kelly, whose brother Michael was one of those who died at Hillsborough.

The disaster unfolded on April 15, 1989, when more than 2,000 Liverpool fans were allowed to pour into a standing-only section behind a goal at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield. The 54,000-capacity stadium was already nearly full for an FA Cup semifinal against Nottingham Forest. The victims were smashed against metal anti-riot fences or trampled underfoot, and many suffocated.

An original inquest in 1991 found the deaths were accidental, which the families of the victims refused to accept. Those findings were overturned in 2012 after a far-reaching inquiry into the disaster that examined previously secret documents and exposed wrongdoing and mistakes by police. In 2016, a jury found the victims were “unlawfully killed.”

The Independent Office for Police Conduct began an investigation into the tragedy in 2012. The conclusions published in the report released on Tuesday were described by some of the bereaved families as “another bitter injustice.”

“This outcome may vindicate the bereaved families and survivors who have fought for decades to expose the truth — but it delivers no justice,” said attorney Nicola Brook, who represents several families.

“Instead, it exposes a system that has allowed officers to simply walk away, retiring without scrutiny, sanction or consequence for failing to meet the standards the public has every right to expect."

New legislation in the Public Office (Accountability) Bill — also known as the “Hillsborough Law” — which is going through Parliament in Britain, would introduce a legal duty of candor for public officials including police.

“Yes, the law has now changed so this loophole cannot be used in future," Brook added. "But for those affected by this case, that is no consolation. They are left with yet another bitter injustice: The truth finally acknowledged but accountability denied.”

Sue Roberts, whose brother, Graham, was killed in the tragedy, said she doesn't believe campaigners “will ever get to the full truth of Hillsborough."

“But what we know now is bad enough, it's damning enough, and people have been named and shamed at last,” she said.

With hooliganism rife in English soccer in the 1980s, there were immediate attempts to assign blame on the Liverpool fans and defend the policing operation. A false narrative that blamed drunken, ticketless and rowdy Liverpool fans was created by police, and was turned around only by campaigning by the bereaved families.

Among those who would have had cases to answer for gross misconduct if they were still serving were Peter Wright, the then-chief constable of South Yorkshire Police who died in 2011, and David Duckenfield, who was the match commander.

Those working on the investigation said the victims, their families and survivors were repeatedly let down.

“First,” IOPC deputy director general Kathie Cashell said, “by the deep complacency of South Yorkshire Police in its preparation for the match, followed by its fundamental failure to grip the disaster as it unfolded, and then through the force’s concerted efforts to deflect the blame onto the Liverpool supporters, which caused enormous distress to bereaved families and survivors for nearly four decades.

“They were let down again by the inexplicably narrow investigation into the disaster conducted by West Midlands Police, which was a missed opportunity to bring these failings to light much sooner.”

Two West Midlands officers who led the investigation into the disaster — Mervyn Jones, who was assistant chief constable, and then-detective chief superintendent Michael Foster — were referred to prosecutors for their failings but the threshold for prosecution was not found to have been met, according to the report.

The IOPC said both former officers would have a case to answer for gross misconduct after failing to conduct a rigorous investigation because they were “biased towards the force and against the supporters.”

Duckenfield, who is now aged 81 and was chief superintendent on the day of the tragedy, was cleared of gross negligence manslaughter by a jury in 2019.

The IOPC report said he “froze in the crisis” and found he had a case to answer for gross misconduct in respect of 10 allegations, including for failing to respond and telling FA officials — in what he later acknowledged was a lie — that fans had forced their way in.

The only person to be convicted as a result of the post-tragedy investigations was former Sheffield Wednesday club secretary Graham Mackrell, who was fined 6,500 pounds (now $8,500) and ordered to pay 5,000 pounds (now $6,600) in costs after he was found guilty of failing to ensure the health and safety of fans arriving at the ground. Hillsborough is Wednesday's home ground.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE- In this file photo dated April 17, 1989, soccer fans arrive to pay their respects and look at the flowers, scarves and banners, left on the gates at Hillsborough Football Stadium. (AP Photo/ Peter Kemp, File)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Torrential rains and flooding have killed more than 100 people in South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and authorities warned Friday that more severe weather was expected across several countries in southern Africa.

South Africa has reported at least 19 deaths in two of its northern provinces following heavy rains that began last month and led to severe flooding.

Tourists and staff members were evacuated this week by helicopter from flooded camps to other areas in the renowned Kruger National Park, which is closed to visitors while parts of it are inaccessible because of washed out roads and bridges, South Africa's national parks agency said.

In neighboring Mozambique, the Institute for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction said 103 people had died in an unusually severe rainy season since late last year. Those deaths were from various causes including electrocution from lightning strikes, drowning in floods, infrastructure collapse caused by the severe weather and cholera, the institute said.

The worst flooding in Mozambique has been in the central and southern regions, where more than 200,000 people have been affected, thousands of homes have been damaged, while tens of thousands face evacuation, the World Food Program said.

Zimbabwe’s disaster management agency said that 70 people have died and more than 1,000 homes have been destroyed in heavy rains since the beginning of the year, while infrastructure including schools, roads and bridges collapsed.

Flooding has also hit the island nation of Madagascar off the coast of Africa as well as Malawi and Zambia. Authorities in Madagascar said 11 people died in floods since late November.

The United States' Famine Early Warning System said flooding was reported or expected in at least seven southern African nations, possibly due to the presence of the La Nina weather phenomenon that can bring heavy rains to parts of southeastern Africa.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited flood-stricken areas in the northern Limpopo province on Thursday and said that region had received around 400 millimeters (more than 15 inches) of rain in less than a week. He said that in one district he visited “there are 36 houses that have just been wiped away from the face of the Earth. Everything is gone ... the roofs, the walls, the fences, everything.”

The flooding occurred in the Limpopo and Mpumalanaga provinces in the north, and the South African Weather Service issued a red-level 10 alert for parts of the country for Friday, warning of more heavy rain and flooding that poses a threat to lives and could cause widespread infrastructure damage.

The huge Kruger wildlife park, which covers some 22,000 square kilometers (7,722 square miles) across the Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces, has been impacted by severe flooding and around 600 tourists and staff members have been evacuated from camps to high-lying areas in the park, Kruger National Park spokesperson Reynold Thakhuli said.

He couldn't immediately say how many people there were in the park, which has been closed to visitors after several rivers burst their banks and flooded camps, restaurants and other areas. The parks agency said precautions were being taken and no deaths or injuries had been reported at Kruger.

The South African army sent helicopters to rescue other people trapped on the roofs of their houses or in trees in northern parts of the country, it said. An army helicopter also rescued border post officers and police officers stranded at a flooded checkpoint on the South Africa-Zimbabwe border.

Southern Africa has experienced a series of extreme weather events in recent years, including devastating cyclones and a scorching drought that caused a food crisis in parts of a region that often suffers food shortages.

The World Food Program said more than 70,000 hectares (about 173,000 acres) of crops in Mozambique, including staples such as rice and corn, have been waterlogged in the current flooding, worsening food insecurity for thousands of small-scale farmers who rely on their harvests for food.

Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa. AP writers Charles Mangwiro in Maputo, Mozambique, and Farai Mutsaka in Harare, Zimbabwe, contributed to this report.

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

This image made from video shows the scene after flooding in Tete Province, Mozambique, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo)

This image made from video shows the scene after flooding in Tete Province, Mozambique, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo)

This image made from video shows the scene after flooding in Tete Province, Mozambique, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo)