BRITAIN’S CROWN PROSECUTION Service (CPS) has found that a notorious slur that Liverpool fans burned a police horse with cigarettes was false.
However, the officer who was on the horse will not face a criminal prosecution due to a lack of evidence.
The CPS said yesterday that it had enough evidence to charge a civilian farrier who was a friend of the officer, but that such a prosecution would not be in the public interest.
96 Liverpool fans died in the 1989 disaster. Five men have been charged with various offences ranging from misconduct in a public office and intent to pervert the course of justice to failing to take reasonable care for the health and safety of other people.
After the disaster, a campaign of mistruths was waged against Liverpool fans, with The Sun newspaper claiming that fans had robbed and urinated on the dead.
In a statement yesterday, the CPS said that it had informed families of the victims of the disaster that no charges had been authorised following an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
The IPCC investigated the conduct of a former South Yorkshire Police mounted officer and a civilian farrier, in relation to an allegation made in 1989 that a police horse was burned with cigarettes by Liverpool supporters.
The mounted police officer was seen on camera lashing out towards fans who he later claimed were burning his horse.
The farrier was a friend of the police officer and he claimed to have seen serious injuries to the horse. The allegation was that their accounts were false and were given to protect the police officer from disciplinary action.
The CPS said that while there was evidence that the farrier’s claims that he saw serious injuries to the horse were false, it would not be pressing charges. The Guardian reports that the CPS made the decision because the farrier was young at the time and acting out of “misplaced loyalty” to the officer.
“A full file of evidence was received from the IPCC in June 2017 and has been subject to thorough consideration by CPS prosecutors. It has been concluded that in relation to the police officer, the evidential threshold has not been met and there is not a realistic prospect of conviction.
“The evidential threshold for a charge of perverting the course of justice was met in the case of the civilian farrier. In accordance with the two-stage test set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors, the public interest in pursuing the case was then considered. It was concluded that it is not in the public interest to prosecute this individual and so no charge was authorised.
“A full explanation of the charging decisions has been provided in writing to the families and their representatives, along with the suspects and other interested parties.”
The claim against fans was included in the 1989 Taylor Report on the tragedy, despite its rejection of claims that Liverpool fans were drunk and misbehaving. Last year, a jury concluded that the 96 fans were unlawfully killed due to police negligence.
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