AROUND 300 boxes containing previously unseen material on the Hillsborough tragedy could soon be made public, the chief constable of South Yorkshire Police said last night.

Meredydd Hughes said his force had “no secrets” and denied there had been any cover-up.

But he added he would be highly surprised if anything in the files caused a major reappraisal of the disaster.

Last night, families of the 96 victims said they welcomed the latest development which appeared to make the public airing of the documents a certainty.

Trevor Hicks, of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, who lost his two teenage daughters in Sheffield, told the Daily Post: “Finally, there is going to be some movement.

“I’m not surprised there’s 300 boxes – we thought there could be more than that.

“It’s all very well for Meredydd Hughes to say there wasn’t a cover-up, but he wasn’t there at the time.

“If there hasn’t been a cover-up, why have there been so many lies told over the years?”

The statements from Mr Hughes appear to give the green light for the secret files to be released, following Home Secretary Jacqui Smith’s call for them to be made public over the weekend.

The decision ultimately lies with the police force in question, but huge pressure to agree to the request since the 20th anniversary of the disaster has left the Mr Hughes with little option.

If released, the documents will be made public a decade earlier than the usual 30-year disclosure protocol.

Families have said they are particularly keen to analyse minutes from a meeting headed by then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the day after the tragedy, which is alleged to have concluded that “the police must not be blamed”.

In a TV interview, Mr Hughes said he had not yet had any request for any information from the Government but due to speak to the Home Secretary today

He said: “South Yorkshire Police has no secrets, has a lot of information that we hope can be made public and, if it’s possible to do so, we will.”