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Uefa Cup riot police 'conned by senior officers'

19/05/2008

A former flying squad commander has said police chiefs were "conned" into believing last Wednesday would be a "fun festival of football".

John O'Connor said police were "hopelessly outnumbered" and let down by their senior officers and the systemic failure of the National Crime Intelligence Unit.

He said there was a lack of liaison with Strathclyde Police ahead of the Uefa Cup final about potential troublemakers.

The ex-police chief told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland: "One poor officer fell over and was nearly killed by them.

"It's just disgraceful. It's a failure of learning from experience. It's a failure of planning, a failure of having contingency plans and a failure of intelligence."

He also stated that his belief that Greater Manchester Police "didn't want to spend the money" on putting more officers on the streets.

Pc Mick Regan, the police officer who was set upon by a group of Rangers fans following the Uefa Cup final, told the BBC that alcohol was "definitely" the key factor in last Wednesday's violence.