Hillsborough police chief Mick Brookfield has insisted that it is unfair for the South Yorkshire Police to be shown in a bad light following the release of the independent panel report.

A report discovered that over 100 police statements were altered in order to place blame on Liverpool fans following the death of 96 of their supporters at the Hillsborough stadium in 1989.

Brookfield, who is now chair of the Sheffield branch of the National Association of Retired Police Officers, has insisted that he does not want to cause problems with those in Merseyside.

"Since the report, nobody before today has printed anything in the press or made any statement in any other area of the media that has put South Yorkshire Police in a reasonable light," Brookfield told the Liverpool Echo. "It has all been critical, unfortunately, and that should not be the case."

Brookfield also claimed that other retired officers could feel put off from helping the Independent Police Complaints Commission in their inquiry.