Hillsborough disaster: PCC Alan Billings to investigate claims South Yorkshire Police ‘tried to spin inquest reports'
'If there’s truth in this, that is shocking and we have to deal with it'
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Your support makes all the difference.The South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner has said he will investigate claims a former press officer for the force was asked to “spin” news from the Hillsborough inquests in favour of the police.
Dr Alan Billings told the BBC: “If there’s truth in this, that is shocking and we have to deal with it.”
Hayley Court, who was headhunted to work as a £50,000-a-year specialist press officer for the Hillsborough inquests, says she was expected to be a "spin doctor" and emphasise evidence that was positive for the police, including poor behaviour by Liverpool fans at the 1989 stadium disaster.
On 26 April, an inquest ruled the 96 fans who died at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final were unlawfully killed.
It also found errors by police and ambulance services on the day “caused or contributed to” the tragedy.
Ms Court was employed in 2014 just after the hearings began. She said her job was to prepare daily reports on the inquest and liaise with reporters.
The 30-year-old told the Guardian she felt her instructions on how to guide the media were unethical.
Ms Court said she was told: “Your job is to round up the media at the end of the day and tell them: ‘This is the line’.”
The “line”, she claims, being to emphasise evidence portraying South Yorkshire Police in a positive light or suggesting supporters had misbehaved. .
“I took that as being told my job was to tell the media what they would be reporting, which isn’t ethical or even possible to do,” she said.
In a performance review in November 2014, when Ms Court was signed off sick with depression, Carrie Goodwin, the South Yorkshire Police head of communications, said: “Hayley disclosed that she felt she had been asked to act in an unethical manner in that she should coerce the media.”
Ms Goodwin said she believed Ms Court has misunderstood her instructions, adding: “Hayley was asked to encourage the media to report on the positives (as well as accepting that they would report negatives)”.
In a statement to the BBC, South Yorkshire Police said it was aware of Ms Court’s concerns and that they were “not substantiated” at the time.
It said: "Some of the issues raised have been considered before through the force's grievance procedure. Specifically in relation to the concerns raised about suggested unethical practices, but these were not substantiated at the time.
"However it is clear that the staff member remains concerned about her experiences and following the outcome of the Hillsborough inquests, and we would like to talk to her and give these matters further consideration."
Dr Billings was re-elected as PCC with more than 144,000 votes on 5 May.
He said he wanted South Yorkshire Police to be “one of the best; an exemplary” force.
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