Norman Bettison book to give his take on the Hillsborough disaster

Sir Norman Bettison, the former chief constable of both Merseyside and West Yorkshire Police, is set to publish Hillsborough Untold through Biteback Publishing.

The title will give an insight into what was happening at South Yorkshire Police headquarters in the aftermath of the tragedy, and will also "respectfully" seek to explain why Bettison feels his involvement has been "unfairly scapegoated" in parliament and by the press, the publisher said. 

The proceeds of the book will go to charity.

On 15th April 1989, 96 spectators lost their lives at Sheffield’s Hillsborough stadium as they gathered for an FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. The events that day sparked a controversy that continues to reverberate through British football and policing.

Bettison was a chief inspector in the South Yorkshire Police at the time of the Hillsborough disaster, and witnessed the tragedy as a spectator at the match. He has since found himself one of the focal points of outrage over the actions of the police. Comments he made in the wake of the Hillsborough Independent Panel in 2012 stoked criticism in the press and in Parliament, and in October 2012, he resigned from his job as chief constable of West Yorkshire Police.

Biteback said this "personal account" will describe how the Hillsborough disaster unfolded, provides an insight into what was happening at South Yorkshire Police headquarters in the aftermath, and gives an "objective and compassionate" account of the bereaved families’ "long struggle for justice".

Bettison said: "I wrote this account because I did not want my 40 year professional career to be defined by false accusations. The book should appeal to anyone with an open mind who remains curious about one of the UK’s most tragic, and controversial, peacetime disasters."

Iain Dale, m.d. of Biteback Publishing, acquired world rights to the title.

Dale said: "Hillsborough was one of the most devastating tragedies in recent British history, causing untold grief and anger to the families and friends of those who died, and spawning hundreds of individual stories. One of those stories belongs to Sir Norman Bettison, a former senior policeman who was there on the day as a football supporter, and later found himself caught up in accusations of a police conspiracy to push the blame for Hillsborough onto the fans. His is a story that has never been heard in its entirety. At Biteback, while we deeply respect the rawness of emotions surrounding Hillsborough, we hope Sir Norman’s voice can only add to the ongoing narrative and maybe shed some new light into what happened on the day and why the aftermath was handled so disastrously, and callously, by the police, politicians and football authorities."

Hillsborough Untold will be published in November 2016.