By Tom Degun
June 29 – Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt (pictured), has been forced to apologise after suggesting that hooliganism was to blame for the Hillsborough disaster.
Hunt, who made the comments yesterday during an interview he gave while attending an event to launch a schools sports competition linked to the 2012 London Olympics, said he was sorry if his words caused any offence to Liverpool supporters and relatives of the 96 people killed in the incident in April 1989.
The Conservative MP made the remark while discussing the good behaviour of England’s fans at the World Cup in South Africa.
He said: “I mean, not a single arrest for a football-related offence and the terrible problems that we had in Heysel and Hillsborough in the 1980s seem now to be behind us.”
Margaret Aspinall, chairman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, reacted furiously and described Hunt as “an absolute disgrace”.
Aspinall, who lost her 18-year-old son James in the Hillsborough disaster, said: “After all these years of fighting for justice I am very angry that he has shown such ignorance of the facts.”
The 96 fans died and hundreds more were injured when a lethal crush developed in the Leppings Lane end of Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium during an FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.
In a statement, Hunt said: “I know that fan unrest played no part in the terrible events of April 1989 and I apologise to Liverpool fans and the families of those killed and injured in the Hillsborough disaster if my comments caused any offence.”
Hunt, 43, is said to be “horrified” at the way his comments came out but Aspinall said she would not accept his apology unless she was allowed to meet him and “explain the facts” to him.
Liverpool-born MP Andy Burnham, who was instrumental in helping set-up a panel to get justice for the families and is a former Culture Secretary , said: “How depressing to see a Cabinet Minister making the same old slurs about Hillsborough.
“He must now do more than make a simple apology.
“He must give a full and unequivocal commitment to the work of the Hillsborough independent panel so that the full details of the tragedy and aftermath can be made public.”
Following the comments, Prime Minister David Cameron has given his full support to Hunt despite angry calls for him to be removed from his post.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The Prime Minister has full confidence in Mr Hunt, who has apologised for his remarks.
“I understand he is going to meet family representatives of Hillsborough and has spoken to the local MP [Garston and Halewood MP Maria Eagle].”
But Eagle slammed Hunt.
She said: “He knows he got it wrong.
“He called me up to apologise.
“How could he possibly utter the word Hillsborough in the context of hooliganism and bad behaviour?
“It speaks volumes – he doesn’t understand or care what happened.
“At every turn, from the police trying to blame fans, to various establishment figures trying to pin it on the fans, now the Secretary of State is saying it 21 years later.
“Typing 110 characters on Twitter is not an apology either.”
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