Sir Norman Bettison - Petition To Resign

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/sep/13/hillsborough-report-norman-bettison-refuses-resign

I find it hard to believe that Bettison didn't know the extent of the cover up considering he was a member of the force's internal enquiry. What's more is he's added salt to the wounds by claiming that 'Liverpool fans made the police's job harder'.

Therefore, is a petition viable to call for his resignation? I feel this is very important to get the message across, so I think that this way will set the wheels moving for this corrupt official.

You're a fan of petitions, aren't you? 

In seriousness though, I am happy to continue to support campaigns by the likes of HJC and sign the relevant petitions but I think it would be wrong for us to start petitions for this, that and the other as it can water down the impact of the other campaigns.
I'm not going to tell you not to do it but I would suggest that the best course of action for us all on here now is to wait and see what steps HJC take and then throw our support behind them, going forward as one.

You're a fan of petitions, aren't you? 

In seriousness though, I am happy to continue to support campaigns by the likes of HJC and sign the relevant petitions but I think it would be wrong for us to start petitions for this, that and the other as it can water down the impact of the other campaigns.
I'm not going to tell you not to do it but I would suggest that the best course of action for us all on here now is to wait and see what steps HJC take and then throw our support behind them, going forward as one.

Reprobate, I totally see your point and I completely agree. You're right in saying we should just take this a step at a time, as I'm sure when prosecutions are handed out it will shed more light on bas**rds like Bettison.

I apologise for any unnecessary knee jerk reactions. Close the thread if need be.

I also think that it might hinder any prosecution that he will face.

lucy manning ‏@lucymanning
On the families calls for him to resign Norman Bettison says "they said that 14 years ago.. This isn't news"

tw*t!

So what the ignorant, arrogant tw*t is saying is that none of the dramatic disclosures in the report give him any reason to change any of the vile statements he made.
An illustration of the calibre of c**t he is as were so many in the higher ranking bizzies remodelling the Hillsborough tragedy to save their own miserable arses.
They should all be in a collective dock in court, all lying cu*ts together. 

bbc news

                       Chief Apologises Over Statement

West Yorkshire's Chief Constable has apologised for any upset caused by a statement he issued about his role in the Hillsborough tragedy.
Sir Norman Bettison was responding to calls for his resignation over the statement he published on Thursday.
He said that he had not intended to suggest that Liverpool fans had hindered police during the disaster in April 1989 in which 96 people died.
Liverpool fans were ''in no way to blame'' for the tragedy, he said.

These backtracks are embarrassing for those to blame.

The main is a c**t, plain and simple. Excuse my language, but he is what he is.

bbc news

                  Thatcher Row Over Police Cover Up

Ex-Home secretary Jack Straw has said Margeret Thatcher's government created a ''culture of impunity'' in the police that led to the Hillsborough cover-up.
An independant report accused the South Yorkshire police of deflecting blame for the disaster on to innocent Liverpool fans.
But Labour's Mr Straw said the then Conservative government was complicit because they needed ''partisan'' support from police for the miners strike and other industrial disputes.
Senior Conservatives dismissed the claims as ''very silly'' and ''wrong''.
             
                  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-1958431

Ain't that the truth.

I only joined this forum last night to try an express how I feel. I live in Warrington which has a good old mix Liverpool, Everton, Man U and City fans.
I have to say that i haven't met or spoken to one single Manchester fan who hasn't genuinely backed the fans from Merseyside on this. I saw that
sick comment about that picture but all across the radio staions, along with liverpudlians speaking, there have been so many Mancunians expressing
there outrage at the injustice that has happened. They'll always be a few in the minority but what has moved me as as much as the families who
have kept fighting for justice is the support from fans from rival clubs who have backed Liverpool all the way.

I would definitely go to a game of Liverpool v Bradford in support of the fans, even though I'm a Warrington rugby fan.

 By the way, I also think that criminal proceedings should take place against the police and especially against the people in charge of the
coverup including relevant government officials at the time, the person who was in charge of the inquiry and those officers who were
supposed to be in charge of looking after everyones wellfare and who turned a blind eye to the pleading fans asking for gate to opened
at the front.

Most of all i want to give my heart to all you people on Merseyside who up the fight for justice after 23 years agianst all the odds.
Everyone from every place and every sport is with you. You'll never walk alone.

bbc news

             Police Cover-up ''Known For Years''

Files detailing the police cover-ups over the Hillsborough disaster were given to the CPS 14 years ago, it has been claimed.
Alun Jones QC led a private prosecution for manslaughter against senior police officers who were in charge when 96 Liverpool fans died in April 1989.
Mr Jones said the CPS needed to explain why it did ''absolutely nothing''.
A separate complaint against a senior officer involved in the disaster, Sir Norman Bettison is to be investigated.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19610226

The CPS itself is facing investigation, ostensibly leap frogging the liar Bettison accusation to examine higher levels of corruption - now things are getting interesting.

The Mayor of Liverpool has already started a City Council E Petition for him to be stripped of his Knighthood along with Sir Irvine Patnick, former MP for Sheffield Hallam, for his role also in the cover up. A few thousand have signed both already.

http://councillors.liverpool.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?ID=19&RPID=4752746&HPID=4752746

Ben Smith ‏@BenSmithBBC
RT @TimesCrime West Yorkshire chief constable Sir Norman Bettison to retire in wake of Hillsborough report

Hope this is true.

I bet he'll still get a juicy pay-off. 

He's getting out while the going's good.
 He'll get his pension and his pay off , and they then can't take it off him.
He's been advised to do this , no doubt to preserve his large pension and pay off.
Disgraceful , he should have been sacked !

Guardian reporting it as true.  Still no remorse though.  Evil sh*t.

West Yorkshire police chief to retire after Hillsborough controversy

Sir Norman Bettison announces retirement after complaint to police watchdog that he supplied misleading information



Sir Norman Bettison, chief constable of West Yorkshire police, who was criticised for his role in the Hillsborough disaster. Photograph: Dave Higgens/PA

guardian.co.uk, Thu 4 Oct 2012 19.03 BST

Sir Norman Bettison is to retire as chief constable of West Yorkshire police after controversy over his role in the Hillsborough tragedy.
A complaint was made to the police watchdog the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) that he had supplied misleading information in the wake of the disaster.

Bettison said in a statement: "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 of 31 March 2013."

The IPCC has said that there was a second element to the referral, which related to a statement Bettison made in September following the report of the Hillsborough independent panel.

In the statement, Bettison said the Liverpool fans' behaviour made policing the tragedy in 1989 "harder than it needed to be". His comments sparked fury, and led to calls for him to resign.

Bettison responded with an apology and said his role was never to "besmirch" the fans and added that the Liverpool supporters were in no way to blame for the disaster.

Bettison was a chief inspector with South Yorkshire police in 1989 but was off duty on 15 April and went to the match as a spectator.
Later, he was involved in an internal inquiry held by the force in the aftermath of the tragedy.

He has denied any wrongdoing in relation to the disaster.

Questions about Bettison's role in the investigation of the tragedy have dogged him as he has risen through the higher ranks of the police – most notably when there were protests from the families of those who died when he became chief constable of Merseyside in 1998.

In a message posted on the West Yorkshire police website, Bettison said he hoped his departure would assist the IPCC in its inquiry.
He said: "I hope it will enable the Independent Police Complaints Commission to fully investigate allegations that have been raised about my integrity. They need to be fairly and fully investigated and I welcome this independent and formal scrutiny."

The former chief constable of Merseyside had refused to leave his post after the publication of a damning report on the Hillsborough disaster.
It laid bare a shocking cover-up which attempted to shift the blame on to the 96 victims.

The inquiry found that 164 police statements were altered, 116 of them to remove or alter "unfavourable" comments about the policing of the match and the unfolding disaster.

Bettison previously defended his role in the aftermath of the disaster, saying: "I never altered a statement nor asked for one to be altered."
He also said: "I really welcome the disclosure of all the facts that can be known about the Hillsborough tragedy because I have absolutely nothing to hide."

http://m.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/oct/04/west-yorkshire-police-retire-hillsborough?cat=football&type=article

He's getting out while the going's good.
 He'll get his pension and his pay off , and they then can't take it off him.
He's been advised to do this , no doubt to preserve his large pension and pay off.
Disgraceful , he should have been sacked !

Sacked would have been more appropriate in light of the report's findings.

Sacked would have been more appropriate in light of the report's findings.

Or this maybe:

Shut Down The Sun ‏@ShutDownTheSun
Not sure how to feel about this.....is he doing it to avoid prosecution?? ??

Don't see how he can dodge that, at least I hope he can't.

Thoughts from Margaret Aspinall:

The families of Hillsborough victims have welcomed Sir Norman Bettison's decision to quit his job.

Last Updated: October 4, 2012 9:20pm

The families of the Hillsborough victims have welcomed Sir Norman Bettison's decision to quit his job as Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police.

Then a South Yorkshire Police chief inspector, Bettison sparked fury in 1989 when he said supporters at the tragedy made policing "harder than it needed to be."

Bettison has now announced he will step down in March next year amid an investigation by the police watchdog.

His statement read: "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 of 31 March 2013."

Chairwoman of the Hillsborough Families Support Group Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died in the tragedy, said: "Obviously I'm very, very pleased. I'm absolutely delighted that he's going.

"But then he'll be going on his full pension, and I'd like to know the full reasons why he's choosing to retire as soon as this."

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11669/8138978/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

Or this maybe:

Shut Down The Sun ‏@ShutDownTheSun
Not sure how to feel about this.....is he doing it to avoid prosecution?? ??

Don't see how he can dodge that, at least I hope he can't.

I don't see how retiring could prevent prosecution. Maybe he realises that being prosecuted in retirement is better than being in office?

The arrogant crook retiring  therefore trying to keep a low profile.

For what reasons? Seems like the guy has skeletons in the closet....

As these people do he is retiring to protect the credibility of his office, another piece of establishment subderfuge to shield the authorities/government from accusations of corruption that are inherant in the tiers of power.
We are getting closer to the truth, these puppets will fall hopefully before the witch Thatcher shakes off this mortal coil.

I don't see how retiring could prevent prosecution. Maybe he realises that being prosecuted in retirement is better than being in office?

That is exactly why. As soon as the findings were released, the Police force were quick to point out that their team now is very different to the one they had at the time of the disaster. Bettison will have been given a huge nudge towards retirement so that he can be filed under "The Past" when prosecutions (hopefully) occur. To have somebody still in office when prosecuted for such offenses would be far more damaging to their image.
Being allowed to retire rather than resign was probably the sweetener.