One of the most senior serving police chiefs who was involved in the discredited South Yorkshire Police investigation after the Hillsborough disaster has said he has "nothing to hide."
Sir Norman Bettison, now the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, has faced calls to quit following the publication of an independent report into the tragedy in which 96 Liverpool fans were killed.
But in a statement released on Thursday he said: "I never altered a statement nor asked for one to be altered," adding that he acknowledged the tragedy was caused "mainly through a lack of police control."
'Nothing to hide': Sir Norman Bettison faces calls to quit
Former Home Secretary Jack Straw had said on Thursday morning he was "bound to be considering" his position.
"It's inevitable. He can read the newspapers, and I would have hoped he would have been considering it for some time.
"I can see the point that the families are making. On the other hand, my dealings personally with Sir Norman suggested that he was a fine police officer."
Downing Street also failed to express support for Sir Norman from Downing Street on Thursday when David Cameron's official spokesman declined to say if he had "faith" in the police chief.
"The Prime Minister made a statement to the House of Commons yesterday setting out his views on this issue, the spokesman replied.
"It is a long report and I'm sure that we will take the time in the coming days and weeks to digest the report in detail. As you know there is going to be opportunity for further debate of this issue in the House in October.
"People are looking at the report in detail. As you know, the Attorney General is doing that, the Home Office is doing that. I'm sure we will come back to this issue, not least in that parliamentary debate."
Campaigners were outraged after Wednesday's report revealed that 41 Liverpool fans crushed in the Hillsborough tragedy might have survived if the ambulance service had been able to attend to them.
There are now calls for a fresh inquest into the disaster, with relatives of the dead saying they will continue to pursue criminal action against those involved in a "depraved" cover-up.
Trevor Hicks, who lost two daughters in the 1989 disaster, vowed to seek justice through the courts against those named in the report by the Hillsborough Independent Panel.
Hillsborough Family Support Group member Margaret Aspinall, the mother of Hillsborough victim James Aspinall, during a press conference at Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral
He said on Wednesday: "The truth is out today, justice starts tomorrow."
Andy Burnham, the Labour MP for Leigh who as culture secretary set up the inquiry, said there had been a "monumental cover-up" and a "sickening campaign of vilification against the victims".
"It comes far too late for many of course but finally the full horror of Hillsborough has been revealed," he said.
Liverpool Walton MP Steve Rotheram, who was at Hillsborough on the day of the disaster and whose constituency is home to Liverpool FC, said today was "momentous".
"Finally we have the undeniable truth, a truth we know now means many innocent people who could and should have been saved, a truth that unequivocally confirms Liverpool fans were not the cause of the disaster and drink was not a significant factor," he told the Commons.
"A truth that both vindicates and validates the 23-year campaign for truth and justice, despite the criticism levelled at us as a self-pity city. That we were right, there was a deliberate attempt to shift the blame, to instigate a cover-up at the very highest level.
"It is not about retribution, it is about responsibility. Today, we have made history but now we must change history."
Hillsborough Tragedy
Sir Norman Bettison's full statement
"The more we learn about events, the more we may understand. I sat through every single day of the Taylor Inquiry, in the summer of 1989. I learned so much.
Taylor was right in saying that the disaster was caused, mainly, through a lack of police control. Fans behaviour, to the extent that it was relevant at all, made the job of the police, in the crush outside Leppings Lane turnstiles, harder than it needed to be.
But it didn't cause the disaster any more than the sunny day that encouraged people to linger outside the stadium as kick off approached.
I held those views then, I hold them now. I have never, since hearing the Taylor evidence unfold, offered any other interpretation in public or private.
It is against that backcloth that any documents with my name attached, out of the 400,000 revealed, must be seen. For example, the reference to preparation for the contributions hearing (the Court case to recover contributions to damages from Sheffield Wednesday Football Club and the stadium engineers who were also found, by Taylor, to be at fault) was to position South Yorkshire Police's liability against the Football Club, the stadium engineers and the Council which issued a defective safety certificate it was NOT to apportion any blame whatsoever to the fans.
In the absence of all the facts, I was called upon to resign 14 years ago, when I became the Chief Constable of Merseyside. I really welcome the disclosure of all the facts that can be known about the Hillsborough tragedy because I have absolutely nothing to hide. I read the 395 page report from cover to cover last night and that remains my position. The panel, in my view, has produced a piece of work that will stand the test of time and scrutiny.
Whilst not wishing to become a conducting rod for all the genuine and justified hurt and anguish, I would invite anyone to do the same as me and read the document and the papers on line. They document, in detail, my personal actions in respect of the Hillsborough tragedy, which were, in summary, as follows:
I purchased a ticket and was an off-duty spectator at the match. As soon as I realised the unfolding tragedy, I put myself on duty, giving immediate assistance behind the south stand. I later set up a receiving centre, at a local police station, for supporters who had become separated from friends and family (see my contemporaneous statement on line).
In 1989, I was a Chief Inspector in a non-operational role at Headquarters. Four days after the disaster (and after all the vile newspaper coverage had been written) I was one of several officers pulled together by the then Deputy Chief Constable, Peter Hays, to support him in piecing together what had taken place at the event.
By that time, the Chief Constable, Peter Wright, had handed over the formal investigation of the tragedy to an independent Police Force, West Midlands Police. It was West Midlands Police that presented evidence before the Taylor Inquiry. The South Yorkshire Deputy Chief Constable's team, under the leadership of Chief Superintendent Wain, was a parallel activity to inform Chief Officers of facts rather than rely on the speculation rampant at that time.
Another team was later created (see Hillsborough Independent Panel Report pages 54 and 55; page 186 (particularly para 2.6.35 which distinguishes the two separate teams; and page 319), to work with the solicitors who were representing South Yorkshire Police at the Taylor Inquiry, to vet statements from South Yorkshire Police Officers that were intended to be presented to the Inquiry (see Hillsborough Independent Panel Report Part 2, Chapter 11). I was not a member of that team. I never altered a statement nor asked for one to be altered. Two South Yorkshire Police teams have been conflated in the minds of some commentators.
I subsequently sat through each day of the Taylor Inquiry, briefing the South Yorkshire Chief Constable and Deputy Chief Constable on a regular basis. These briefings acknowledged and accepted the responsibility of the Force in the disaster. The evidence was overwhelming.
Shortly after the conclusion of the Taylor Inquiry, I was posted to other duties. I had nothing further to do with the subsequent Coroners Inquests and proceedings, other than occasional advice because of my knowledge of the evidence presented to the Taylor Inquiry.
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