Former Hammonds partner Peter Metcalf, the lawyer who acted for the South Yorkshire Police in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster, will face trial next January after a judge declined to stay his prosecution over charges of intent to pervert the course of public justice.

Metcalf was charged last year over his role reviewing accounts written by police officers at the 1989 tragedy at the Sheffield football stadium, which resulted in the deaths of 96 people.

He had applied to dismiss the charge and to stay the proceedings against him, along with four other individuals charged with criminal offences including David Duckenfield, the match commander for South Yorkshire Police on the day of the disaster, and Donald Denton, the former chief superintendent of South Yorkshire Police.

At a hearing at Preston Crown Court today (29 June), Mr Justice Openshaw said there was "a case to answer" and ruled against the application to dismiss the charge, while also declining to stay the prosecution.

Metcalfe was represented by Ward Hadaway commercial litigation partner Ian McCombie, with Jonathan Goldberg QC of North Square Chambers, Timothy Kendal of 2 Bedford Row and Senghin Kong of 5KBW instructed as counsel.

Sarah Whitehouse QC and Mark Weekes of 6KBW are prosecuting the case against Metcalf on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service.

In the wake of the 1989 disaster, Metcalf worked with a team of police officers managed by Denton, and a 2012 independent report into the disaster identified Metcalf as having recommended the "review and alteration" of handwritten accounts by police officers in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy.

Metcalf worked at legacy firm Hammonds Suddards until April 2000, when it merged with Midlands firm Edge Ellison to form Hammonds Suddards Edge, which at the time was one of the UK's largest law firms. Hammonds sealed a transatlantic tie-up with US firm Squire Sanders & Dempsey in 2011, which was followed by the 2014 merger with Patton Boggs that created the firm now known as Squire Patton Boggs.

It is understood that Metcalf retired from practice in 2002.

In 2012, the Solicitors Regulation Authority launched an investigation into the conduct of solicitors involved in Hillsborough. A spokesperson for the regulator said: "We continue to work closely with other authorities involved in this matter. We will now await the conclusion of this case before deciding on appropriate action."