Hillsborough: ‘the poison of decades-old misdeeds’

The Home Secretary has delivered a powerful warning to police officers that Hillsborough is a touchstone for the future of policing.

Theresa May told the Police Federation conference in Bournemouth: “We must never underestimate how the poison of decades-old misdeeds seeps down through the years and is just as toxic today as it was then.”

She said the police at that time failed to put justice first and that the lessons of Hillsborough must not go unheeded.

Her speech also focused on improving the treatment of victims of domestic violence and abuse and announced plans to improve training to address vulnerability.

There were no boos but her speech was greeted with muted applause.

Earlier delegates stood for a minutes silence in honour of the 96 victims of Hillsborough and the Federation chair Steve White said it was unfair to make the officers of today culpable for the errors of their predecessors and they should be not be tarred with the same brush.

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