‘Police chiefs who lied to cover up the truth behind the Hillsborough disaster should be prosecuted, relatives of the 96 dead fans said last night.

They claim a calculated attempt by South Yorkshire Police to disguise the full facts about the day when Liverpool supporters were crushed to death was the ‘biggest cover-up in history’.

An independent panel – studying evidence discounted by the coroner at the original inquest – found as many as 41 of the dead could have survived with a proper response by the emergency services.

But it also discovered that more than 100 statements taken by police were doctored to remove evidence which painted the force in a bad light.’