Hillsborough disaster: Six people, including David Duckenfield, charged

David Duckenfield, the South Yorkshire officer who was in command of policing at the match, has been charged with manslaughter of 95 people – the 96th, Tony Bland, died four years later after his life support was switched off.

Sue Hemming, the Crown Prosecution Service head of special crime and counter-terrorism division, said the CPS would allege that Duckenfield's failure to take personal responsibility on the day was "extraordinarily bad and contributed substantially to the deaths of each of those 96 people who so tragically and unnecessarily lost their lives".

Sir Norman Bettison, the former chief constable of Merseyside and West Yorkshire police, who was an inspector in the South Yorkshire force at the time of the disaster, has been charged with four counts of misconduct in a public office.

On the four charges of misconduct in a public office relating to Bettison, Hemming said the officer allegedly told lies about his involvement in the disaster.

Graham Mackrell, the Sheffield Wednesday chief executive and officially designated safety officer for the Hillsborough stadium, has also been charged with breaching the terms of the ground's safety certificate and failing to take reasonable care under the Health and Safety at Work Act. The three other men are all charged with doing acts with intent to pervert the course of justice, for the process by which statements made by South Yorkshire police officers on duty at Hillsborough were subsequently reviewed and changed. Donald Denton, the South Yorkshire police chief superintendent who operated in a senior role in that process, his deputy, chief inspector Alan Foster, and the then South Yorkshire police solicitor, Peter Metcalf, have all been charged.

Hemming added: "Following our careful review of the evidence, in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, I have decided that there is sufficient evidence to charge six individuals with criminal offences. "Criminal proceedings have now commenced and the defendants have a right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online."

The CPS also considered bringing charges against Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, the South Yorkshire metropolitan ambulance service and the Football Association. Families of those who died gathered at Parr Hall, a venue in Warrington, near Liverpool, to hear the news directly from representatives of the CPS.