‘London Times’ apologises for Hillsborough omission

The London Times newspaper has said it "made a mistake" by not including coverage of the Hillsborough inquest on the front page of its first edition on Wednesday.

The paper faced criticism, along with its sister paper The Sun, for not featuring on its front page the news that an inquest jury had ruled that 96 Liverpool fans who died in the 1989 tragedy were unlawfully killed.

The 96 fans were crushed to death at the stadium during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

In a statement posted on Twitter, the paper, which publishes an online Irish edition, said: “The Times led with Hillsborough coverage on all our digital editions throughout the day.

“This morning we have covered it extensively in the paper with two spreads, the back page, a top leader and an interactive on the victims.

“We made a mistake with the front page of our first edition, and we fixed it for the second edition.”

A photo of the families outside the Warrington court room appeared on later editions of The London Times, along with a trailer for its coverage that ran into several pages, including an editorial comment.

The Sun came in for particular criticism following the tragedy, having run a front page story proclaiming to tell “The Truth” four days after the incident.

The article featured claims from an anonymous policeman that some fans had “picked pockets of victims”, “urinated on cops” and that a group had beat up a policeman giving the “kiss of life”.

‘Measure of justice’

The leader stated that after 27 years, the “Hillsborough families finally have their first measure of justice.

“Whether they get more is in the hands of the CPS. We hope they do.

"The horror that befell Liverpool fans was, as the inquest has now found, the fault of catastrophic police blunders — specifically by former Chief Supt David Duckenfield - which were shamefully then covered up.

"Failures by the ambulance service were also to blame, as was the design of the Sheffield stadium.

“The supporters were not to blame. But the police smeared them with a pack of lies which in 1989 The Sun and others in the media swallowed whole.

“We apologised prominently 12 years ago, again four years ago on the front page, and do so unreservedly again now.”

On Tuesday, former editor of The Sun Kelvin MacKenzie, who oversaw the 1989 story which blamed the fans, also apologised for the “hurt” the story caused.

In a statement he said: “Today’s verdicts are an important step in obtaining justice for the victims. My heart goes out to those who have waited so long for vindication.

“As I have said before, the headline I published was wrong and I am profoundly sorry for the hurt it caused.”

PA