Launching the investigation, Deborah Glass, deputy chair of the Independent Police Complains Commission (IPCC), said that the large number of current and former police officers who would now be investigated include Sir Norman Bettison, currently West Yorkshire's chief constable.
The investigation will look into events before, during and after 15 April 1989 when 96 people – men, women and children – died and 760 were injured in over-crowding at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield.
Bettison was accused in the the Hillsborough Independent Panel report of having a lead role in deflecting blame away from the police after the tragedy. The report showed that he took part in the preparation of a video presenting the police's version of events to MPs. He was accused by the Labour MP Maria Eagle of being part of a "black ops" unit.
The IPCC said that it would also investigate a second complaint from the West Yorkshire Police Authority that Bettison had tried to influence it over its referral.
Bettison has recently announced that he will take early retirement next year. A spokesman for West Yorkshire force said today that since the report was published, the chief constable had accepted that there needed to be a formal and fair investigation by the IPCC.
Last month's report estimated that of the 96 who had died, 41 had the "potential to survive" if an emergency plan had been correctly put in place.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Kier Starmer QC, announced today that he would be reviewing all material gathered in the 395 pages of the Hillsborough Panel report to decide whether new charges of manslaughter can be brought. "The purpose of this exercise is to identify what the focus of any further criminal investigation should be," he said.
Charges that could be brought against officers, if sufficient evidence emerges, include manslaughter, perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice. Two forces will be the focus of the IPCC probe: South Yorkshire, whose officers were in charge of policing the Sheffield stadium, and West Midlands, which later carried out the formal investigation of their fellow officers.
Other actions involving police misconduct will also be investigated. Ms Glass said it would take several months to scope what the full extent of the inquiry would be, and the numbers of officers involved. Of the officers who were on duty at Hillsborough in 1989, 200 are still serving police officers.
Margaret Aspinall, chair of the Hillsborough Families Support group, who lost her son James at the Sheffield stadium, said the decisions of the IPCC and the DPP, showed faith in what she said four weeks ago when the report was published: "I said the truth is out there. Now it is time for accountability. We have more waiting ahead – but we have already waited 23 years."
A statement from Liverpool Football Club said the scale of the investigation being launched was "another significant step forward in the campaign for justice for Hillsborough families and survivors".
Anne Williams, who lost her 15-year-old son Kevin in the tragedy, told the BBC that although she knew the legal process was going to be long "at least they are getting the ball moving".
The mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said that after waiting 23 years for justice, the Hillsborough families were now watching the wheels of justice being set in motion.
Ms Glass said that since the publication of the report last month, the IPCC had identified a large number of potential criminal misconduct offences that fell into two categories: these were allegations of what happened on the day at the stadium, and what happened afterwards.
The IPCC will investigate claims that police officers were engaged in a cover-up that involved changing their statements and giving misleading information to the media and to parliament. The Independent Panel report claimed that 164 police statements had been altered.
They will also probe evidence that raises questions about the "discreditable conduct" and "integrity of senior officers" who gave accounts of what had led to the deadly crush on Hillsborough's terraces. Attempts to shift blame away from the police, and who gave the order to focus on the alcohol levels of the dead and the use of the Police National Computer to check the criminal records of the deceased, will also be investigated.
The IPCC has never carried out an investigation of this magnitude and currently does not have the manpower to ensure it can deliver what was laid out today. However Ms Glass said she had been given assurances by the Home Secretary, Theresa May, that it will be given "appropriate resources to be able to undertake this task properly".
The Attorney General, Dominic Grieve QC, will now decide whether to take steps that will quash the existing verdict of "accidental death" for the 96 who were killed, and to seek a new inquest. If ordered, the coroner could proceed without waiting for potential criminal proceedings to conclude.
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Chief Constable Leslie Sharp. Cumbria Constabulary.
On 1 April 1990 Sharp tooK overall responsibility for the criminal and disciplinary investigations launched by the Police Complaints Authority a year after the Hillsborough disaster. He investigated Chief Constable Peter Wright, then head of the South Yorkshire force.
Sharp concluded his inquiries three days before Mr Wright's retirement. Letters reveal Sharp writing to Wright, praising him and saying he did want to investigate him. The IPCC report says this "raises concern about bias" and asks if there was a "rush" to clear Wright before he retired.
Sir Norman Bettison, West Yorkshire Chief Constable
Last year Sir Norman was referred to the IPCC over claims that he was continuing to give misleading information on events surrounding Hillsborough.
Then three days ago a second referral by the West Yorkshire Authority claims he had also tried to influence their decision-making in relation to the Hillsborough allegations. The IPCC has decided to investigate Sir Norman's overall role in Hillsborough and whether he "deliberately sought" to deflect blame.
Chief Superintendent Don Denton and Chief Superintendent Terry Wain
Immediately after the tragedy, South Yorkshire Police set up two internal teams to look at what had happened. Two senior officers were put in charge. Don Denton led one of the groups, the other was headed by Terry Wain.
The version of events offered by the "Wain" report was crucial in the focus that fell on the fans' behaviour on the day of the tragedy. The IPCC is to investigate who gave instructions to officers not to complete duty statements and entries in their notebooks. The investigation wants to discover the two officers' alleged "involvement in this process".
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