Tory minister apologises over Hillsborough comments

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Update: Andy Burnham has attacked Jeremy Hunt for his “casual ignorance” over Hillsborough. Speaking to BBC News, Burnham said:

“It is very depressing to hear a cabinet minister makes this remark, it shows a casual ignorance about one of the biggest manmade disasters this country has ever seen.”

Update: Watch the video here:

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Tory Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt has been forced to apologise today after suggesting that crowd unrest was responsible for the 1989 Hillsborough disaster – contrary to the findings of the Taylor report, which advocated all-seater stadiums in the UK.

Speaking to Sky News after England crashed out of the World Cup, Hunt said:

“I was incredibly encouraged by the example set by the England fans, I mean not a single arrest for a football related offensive and the terrible problems that we had in Heysel and Hillsborough in the 1980s seem now to be behind us and I think, you know, there is small grounds for encouragement there even though obviously we are very disappointed about the result.”

Hunt apologied later on in a brief post on his website, saying:

“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.”

As Alex said last year, Alan Johnson was right to release the Hillsborough documents so that the truth could see the light of day. It seems a shame that the current culture minister is not as aware of the facts as someone in his position should be.