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West Yorkshire police refers itself to IPCC over 1985 Bradford City fire

West Yorkshire police has voluntarily referred itself to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) in relation to the Bradford City fire of 1985, in which 56 football fans died.
The force said the referral comes after a senior officer met with Martin Fletcher, whose father, brother, uncle and grandfather died in the Valley Parade blaze and who recently wrote a book about the tragedy.
It claimed that the fire was one of nine that occurred at businesses owned by or linked to the club’s then chairman Stafford Heginbotham.
In a statement, the force said “serious issues” had been raised by the book relating to a number of agencies and organisations.
It said: “Since publication of Mr Fletcher’s book, West Yorkshire police has been working to identify what material was still available from the original enquiry and has found that, despite the passage of time, a lot of material had been retained.
“West Yorkshire police fully understands that this will bring back painful memories for people who were there or who lost loved ones 30 years ago, but it is important that the concerns raised by Mr Fletcher are addressed.
“We are awaiting a decision from the IPCC on the referral.”

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