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Cameron’s insensitive comments on Hillsborough

October 26, 2011 12:24 pm

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Luciana Berger asked the PM to apologise for his insensitive comments on Hillsborough at PMQs today. From The Mirror, here are the quotes that Berger was referring to:

“I don’t think we will ever achieve closure on Hillsborough. I don’t think there will ever be one moment when you can say ‘that’s it’.

“It’s like, what’s the saying, it’s like a blind man, in a dark room, looking for a black cat that isn’t there.”

The Prime Minister didn’t apologise, and he didn’t deny the remarks either.

Anonymous

How is this insensitive?

‘We’ or ‘some’ will never achieve closure on this tragedy. For some people, no matter what happens, there will never be an end to it and there will never be closure.

The metaphor is apt. You can look for closure and others can encourage you, but some people will never get it like how some people never recover from the death of a child, partner or friend.

As someone who does not appear to have particularly strong ties to her seat I can understand why she needs to be involved in totemic local issues but this appears to be an attempt to generate heat from little (if anything) to show her local credentials.
- Anonymous
  
  Truly sad to see partisanship deployed to cover this crass insensitivity.
  
  Cameron didn’t have to say anything at all, but he chose to push the stereotyping of all Liverpudlians and unjustified moaners.
  
  All he has to do is realese the papers and shut up.
  - Anonymous
    
    He pushed no stereotypes at all.
    
    Other than in oversensitive peoples imaginations or for those looking for Liverpool credentials.
    
    Some people will never get over this no matter what and he has recognised that.
    o do is realese the papers and shut up.
Anonymous

Over the years we had lot of time to have this review but nobody wanted to know, and I’m already tired of silly politicians from all sides who need to grow up.

So Cameron like Blair and Brown can make some real stupid remarks Miliband with his knocking on a door seeing man who was on benefits, to Blair and his work shy and browns Bigot, and now an MP demanding Cameron apologies for what, making a stupid dis-ablest remark, after all it does not matter if the room was lite up or the cat was white the person in the room was blind.

People want to know the facts on the Hillsborough incident which has now gone on for to long, it time to stop this political battle and point taking and get back to the facts.
Frederick James

By tediously playing the professional victim card to shore up the whiny-Scouser vote, Berger rather proved Cameron’s point, I’d say. Give it a rest, for God’s sake, guys: we couldn’t pity you any more than we do already. Satisfied now? Thought not.
Anonymous

In what way is it insensitive?
- Anonymous
  
  Isn’t it obvious? If not, I suspect you are blind to the circumstances or simply lack empathy for the victims.
  
  More likely though is that you are just defending Cameron’s daft and thoughtless outburst of stereotyping.
  - Anonymous
    
    “I suspect you are blind to the circumstances or simply lack empathy for the victims.”
    
    My grandad was a Liverpool supporter who was there that day.
    
    Like Berger, you are simply seeing things that aren’t there.
http://twitter.com/joejervis89 Joe Jervis

This is the most desperate attempt to play politics I’ve ever seen. How on earth is that insensitive? Getting more and more ashamed to be a Labour supporter every day at the moment.

Why can’t we concentrate on making our party electable instead of desperately attacking every tiny thing they say? This kind of stuff discredits us when we have a genuine argument to make when the Tories do actually need to be attacked.
- Anonymous
  
  I think it’s highly insensitive to suggest that the Hillsborough families are chasing something that isn’t there. They’re searching for justice for their lived ones – something which has been denied to them for 22 years.
  
  That’s why it’s insensitive.
  - Happy Slayer
    
    And Labour felt so strongly about this issue they did nothing about it for the 13 years they were in government. At least this government is actually opening the files.
  - Anonymous
    
    Maybe they will NEVER find closure and that’s what he was talking about before the opportunist who wants to prove her ‘local’ roots jumped on the issue?
    
    Some people never get over the death of a loved one. Ever. No matter what happens and maybe the issue is too ingrained in the local area now for it ever to achieve closure.
    - Anonymous
      
      Maybe, maybe. But what part does the Prime Minister have in that?
      
      He is just saying that these people are moaning about the disaster without good reason.
      
      That is contemptuous of the victim’s families who have long accused the tory govt of the time of a cover up and involvement with the smears and lies.
      
      Release the papers and shut up, Dave.
      - Anonymous
        
        He is a human pointing out what may be fact for some. He and his wife for example may never get over the death of their son, they may never have closure with that.
        
        You are imagining what he said and projecting onto it. He didn’t say anything about moaning, that just fits your narrative.
jaime taurosangastre candelas

It would have been a lot more sensitive for her to have congratulated the government on opening up the cabinet files. Her fellow Liverpool MP Andy Burnham had many opportunities to seek this openness as a PPS within the Home Office, a Minister of State in the Home Office, and latterly as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. He managed a minute’s silence instead at Anfield a few years ago which I’m sure was heartfelt but not the sort of result you expect from a Government Minister. You expect action, not silence from a Minister.

As it was, she’s been inadvertently transparent and thus revealed herself as both desperately trying to establish some Liverpool credentials and also as particularly stupid.
- Anonymous
  
  Oh, she ‘has revealed herself’ has she?
  
  Amazing what expertise one finds on the t’internet.

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