Hillsborough trial: 'Natural' for force to defend itself

Donald Denton denies any criminal offences

A police chief who oversaw amendments to officers' statements after the Hillsborough disaster said it was "absolutely natural" for the force to defend itself, a court has heard.

Donald Denton, 83, and two other men are accused of making changes to minimise the blame on police.

He said some amendments were made to remove ambiguity but there was not a "concerted" or "conspiratorial" effort to remove criticism of senior officers.

Mr Denton denies any criminal offences.

He was a chief superintendent with South Yorkshire Police at the time of the disaster, which unfolded at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final. Ninety-six Liverpool fans died.

He and two other men - retired detective chief inspector Alan Foster, 74, and the force's former solicitor Peter Metcalf, 71 - deny perverting the course of justice.

A Nightingale court at the Lowry Theatre in Salford heard a transcript of evidence Mr Denton gave to Lord Justice Stuart-Smith's scrutiny hearing in 1997.

In it, he was asked to comment on why there were examples where criticism of senior officers had been removed from statements, but criticism of fans had not.

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He said: "I think it would be fair to say that throughout the whole of this exercise - whilst there was nothing distinctly deliberate about it - the South Yorkshire Police at that time had their backs to the wall a little bit with public opinion against them.

"I think it was absolutely natural for them to concern themselves with defending themselves.

"It was not a fact that the police were trying to cover up. They weren't trying to cover up at all.

"That was never the idea at all in any of these statements and alterations."

The jury was told Mr Denton was interviewed in 2014 by investigators from the Independent Police Complaints Commission, now the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

He provided a prepared statement in which he "emphatically" denied any criminal offences.

The former officer, who retired from the police in 1990, said he had supervisory responsibility for the process of removing emotive language, conjecture and opinion from statements before they were passed to investigating force West Midlands Police for use by the public inquiry led by Lord Justice Taylor.

He said: "At no time did I instruct anyone to undertake, nor would I have condoned, the amendment of statements for any improper motive, such as to frustrate or mislead the Taylor Inquiry, the inquests or any criminal or disciplinary investigation."

The trial continues.