HILLSBOROUGH families have announced that they will be demanding an independent review to scrutinise today’s Crown Prosecution Service decision not to prosecute former police chief Norman Bettison.

Mr Bettison, 62, had been charged with four counts of misconduct in a public office, all relating to alleged lies he told following the 1989 stadium disaster in which 96 Liverpool fans died.

At Preston Crown Court, prosecutor Sarah Whitehouse QC said the proceedings against Mr Bettison, a South Yorkshire Police chief inspector at the time of the disaster, would be discontinued as there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction.

He was off duty on the day but was part of a team charged with finding material in the aftermath of the tragedy for police lawyers to present to the public inquiry led by Lord Justice Taylor.

Ms Whitehouse told the court that, since the defendant was charged last June, the “state of the evidence has changed.”

Paul Greaney QC, defending Mr Bettison, said he was an “innocent man” and that there had been “naked political interference” in the case.

Margaret Aspinall, chairwoman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, said: “We have grave concerns about the handling of this case by the CPS and can confirm that we will be exercising our right to an independent review under the right-to-review scheme.

“It is our view that the wrong charge was brought in the first place and we will be using the review process to argue this point strongly.”

Five other men, including Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield, are due to face trial for offences related to the disaster next year.