South Yorkshire Police have agreed to pay compensation to survivors and bereaved families of the Hillsborough disaster.
The force struck a deal with those affected by the unlawful killing of 96 Liverpool supporters in 1989 and a subsequent black propaganda campaign.
Officers sought to blame Reds fans in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, making accusations of drunkenness and general misbehaviour.
However more than 601 people connected to the disaster will now receive financial recompense for the psychiatric trauma cause by the force’s actions.
South Yorkshire chiefs previously agreed to settle claims with victims’ families and some of those injured at Hillsborough in late 1989 which amounted to £19.8 million.
That figure included a combined contribution from Sheffield Wednesday, stadium engineers Eastwood & Partners and Sheffield City Council of £4.5m.
However the police’s initial claims of Liverpool-related disorder at the FA Cup semi-final were rejected outright by a new Hillsborough inquest in 2016.
The jury ruled no behaviour of any of the supporters caught up in the fatal crush at the Leppings Lane end contributed to the catastrophic loss of life.
They also deemed that David Duckenfield, South Yorkshire’s match commander on the day, had been guilty of gross negligence for the deaths.
In a statement on Friday, lawyers who have acted for families of the deceased and survivors said: “Through this civil claim for misfeasance in a public office, 601 victims sought justice and accountability for the deliberate, orchestrated and thoroughly dishonest police cover-up that suppressed the truth about the responsibility of the police, and blamed the football supporters for the horrific events that unfolded at the Hillsborough Stadium on 15 April 1989.
“Ninety-six Liverpool supporters were unlawfully killed as a result of the police failings that day, and countless others suffered physical and psychological harm.
“The distress and heartache caused by the loss of life, and the injuries caused to those who survived, were made significantly worse by the lies told and the cover-up that followed.
“As a result of the cover-up, that was maintained for nearly 30 years, the victims, both the bereaved and the survivors, and their families and loved ones, suffered additional psychiatric injury.
“No amount of money can compensate them for the ordeal they have suffered, but this settlement acknowledges both the cover-up and its impact upon each of the victims.”
South Yorkshire Police issues an ‘unreserved apology to all those affected by the Hillsborough disaster and its aftermath’ in their statement on the matter.
“We acknowledge that serious errors and mistakes were made by South Yorkshire Police, both on 15 April 1989 and during the subsequent investigations,” said the force.
“Those actions on the day of the disaster tragically led to lives being lost and many being injured.
“The force’s subsequent failings also cause huge distress, suffering and pain, both to the victims and their families. This is something South Yorkshire Police profoundly regrets.
“Since 2016, we have worked closely and in a constructive manner with the legal representatives of the families affected by the Hillsborough tragedy to agree to a scheme to compensate those affected.
“We know these settlements can never make up for what they have lost and suffered.
“We would like to thank the families for their dignified approach, which has enabled us to progress and agree the scheme.
“The force’s subsequent failings also caused huge distress, suffering and pain, both to the victims and their families.
“This is something South Yorkshire Police profoundly regrets.”
Last week the remaining three defendants to be charged in connection with Hillsborough were formally acquitted by a judge at Salford’s Nightingale court.