Cameron 'sorry' for 1989 soccer stadium disaster

Updated: 2012-09-13 14:33

(Agencies)

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Families incensed

All the victims during the FA Cup semifinal between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, held at the neutral ground of Sheffield Wednesday, were Liverpool supporters.

The press secretary of then Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher incensed families by blaming the disaster on a "tanked-up mob".

The report found no reason for the coroner's decision to take blood alcohol samples from all of the victims, including children.

"The pattern of alcohol consumption among those who died was unremarkable," the report said. "The weight placed on alcohol levels was... inappropriate and misleading."

The disaster was also one of the low points for Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper group, currently reeling from a phone hacking scandal that has led to criminal charges against former senior executives and reporters.

Many in Liverpool still boycott Murdoch's newspapers after the top-selling Sun accused their fans of stealing from the dying, urinating on policemen and beating up an officer giving the kiss of life. The newspaper's executives have since apologised for the story.

The youngest victim, 10-year-old Jon-Paul Gilhooley, was the cousin of the current England and Liverpool captain Gerrard.

The Hillsborough Independent Panel, headed by the Bishop of Liverpool the Right Reverend James Jones, was set up by the last government in 2010 to oversee the release of thousands of previously unseen documents related to the incident.

 

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