Cameron issues Hillsborough apology

British Prime Minister David Cameron has apologised to the victims of the Hillsborough tragedy in a statement to the House of Commons.

Ninety six people were crushed to death in the Leppings Lane stand of Sheffield Wednesday’s ground as an FA Cup tie between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest began in 1989.

The families of the victims have on Tuesday learned of the full, shocking extent of how South Yorkshire police mishandled the incident, and subsequently attempted to cover up their actions, attempting to pin the blame on Liverpool supporters.

A subsequent inquiry handed down a verdict of accidental death, but the independent panel has now considered several pieces of evidence not made available during that probe.

A 394-page report compiled by the Hillsborough Independent Panel has now revealed attempts from both police and politicians to discredit fans following the deaths, prompting the Prime Minister to issue an apology.

According to the panel’s report, South Yorkshire police disseminated false information to Conservative MP Irvine Patnick, a source for the subsequent infamous story from the Sun newspaper.

As many as 164 statements made by police in attendance that day were later doctored in order to suit a narrative which laid blame on supporters, while 116 “negative comments” were removed from these police statements.

Tests for blood alcohol level were performed on all of the 96 victims and, when those proved to be negligible, the criminal records of victims were sought in order to try and discredit them.

Dr. Stefan Popper, who presided over the original inquest into the deaths, had suggested that probe was unnecessary as the cause of death was already known – despite these being required by law.

According to the new report, 31 of the victims still had heart and lung function after 3.15pm, the cut-off point by which it was adjudged all victims had died in the original inquest.

The “shortcomings” of the response from emergency services led to the avoidable deaths of 59 of the victims, while the South Yorkshire ambulance service wrongly discredited criticisms of its conduct from doctors present on the day.

Then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was fully aware the original inquiry contained “devastating criticism of the police”.

Finally, there is “no evidence of substance” to suggest the drunken or aggressive behaviour of fans was in any way a contributory factor.

Prime Minister David Cameron has since told the House of Commons the matter has been handed to the Attorney General with a view to quashing the original inquest verdict of accidental death.