Sir Norman Bettison: 'I have nothing to hide' on Hillsborough operation

Sir Norman Bettison, the most senior serving police officer involved with South Yorkshire Police's Hillsborough operation, said he had "nothing to hide".

Sir Norman, the current Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, faced calls to quit following an independent report into the tragedy in which 96 people were killed.

In a statement released on West Yorkshire Police's website, he said:

The report by the Hillsborough Independent Panel laid bare a shocking cover-up from police who attempted to shift the blame on to the 96 victims.

The report found that 164 police statements were altered, 116 of them to remove or alter "unfavourable" comments about the policing of the match and the unfolding disaster.

Sir Norman, who was involved in an internal inquiry held in the aftermath of the disaster, was an off duty police officer when he attended the game in 1989. He said:

Here is Sir Norman's statement in full: