Five men charged over the Hillsborough disaster and its aftermath have appeared in crown court.<\/p>\n
The men, including ex-South Yorkshire Police (SYP) Ch Insp Sir Norman Bettison, sat in a glass-walled dock at Preston Crown Court in Lancashire.<\/p>\n
No formal pleas were given in the hearing but their legal teams have indicated they will deny the charges.<\/p>\n
Mr Justice Davis has ruled that any forthcoming trials should be held in Preston.<\/p>\n
About 20 family members of the 96 fans who were fatally injured in the 1989 disaster sat yards away in the public gallery, overlooking the court packed with 36 lawyers.<\/p>\n
Lawyers for the defendants had argued that future trials should be held outside of the North West of England to ensure the defendants received a fair hearing.<\/p>\n
They proposed holding the trials in Leeds, Birmingham or London.<\/p>\n
However, Richard Matthews QC, prosecuting, told the judge the prosecution team preferred the trial to go ahead in Preston and the judge agreed.<\/p>\n
Former Ch Supt David Duckenfield\u00a0also faces 95 charges of manslaughter<\/a>\u00a0but was not required to attend.<\/p>\n He can not be charged until an application to lift a stay on prosecution – imposed after he was prosecuted privately in 1999 – has been heard at the High Court.<\/p>\n The full list of individuals and charges are:<\/p>\n The CPS brought charges following referrals from the Operation Resolve investigation into the causes of the disaster and the Independent Police Complaints Commission probe.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"David](\"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/David-Duckenfield.jpg\")
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