The settlement, bringing to a close large-scale group litigation which began in 2015, was reached at the end of April but could not be made public until the end of the criminal trial of a former police solicitor and two former police officers.

The criminal trial collapsed last month because the charge of “perverting the course of justice” could not apply to evidence given to the 1989 Taylor Inquiry because it was not a statutory public inquiry.

The 601 people who will receive damages include survivors of the disaster and family members of those who were killed. The total sum to be paid has not yet been agreed.

In a statement, Saunders Law, which represented 219 of the individual claimants, said: “We trust that this settlement will put an end to any fresh attempts to rewrite the record and wrongly claim that there was no cover-up.

“In so commenting, we contrast the dignity of the bereaved families and the supporters, with the conduct of those who still seek to peddle the discredited lies of the past.”