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Boris 'sorry' for Hillsborough article

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has apologised for an editorial article in The Spectator magazine when he was editor in 2004 about Liverpool fans being partly to blame for the Hillsborough disaster:

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Sir Irvine Patnick: 'I totally accept responsibility for passing information'

In a statement issued through the Conservative Party, Sir Irvine Patnick said:

I would like to put on the record how appalled and shocked I was to discover the extent of the deceit and cover-up surrounding these events.

It is now clear that the information I received from some police officers at the time was wholly inaccurate, misleading and plain wrong.

However, I totally accept responsibility for passing such information on without asking further questions.

So, many years after this tragic event, I am deeply and sincerely sorry for the part I played in adding to the pain and suffering of the victims' families.

FA chairman offers 'a full and unreserved apology'

Football Association chairman David Bernstein offered "a full and unreserved apology" to all those affected by the Hillsborough disaster.

Chairman of the FA David Bernstein. Credit: Nick Potts/PA Wire

The ground did not have a valid safety certificate at the time of the match.

Mr Bernstein said in a statement: "We are deeply sorry this tragedy occurred at a venue the FA selected.

"This fixture was played in the FA's own competition, and on behalf of the Football Association I offer a full and unreserved apology and express sincere condolences to all of the families of those who lost their lives and to everyone connected to the city of Liverpool and Liverpool Football Club."

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Hillsborough papers: England almost withdrawn from 1990 World Cup

The Government considered pulling the England football team out of the 1990 World Cup in the aftermath of the Hillsborough tragedy, official papers have revealed.

West Germany Manager Franz Beckenbauer consoles England Manager Bobby Robson. Credit: Peter Robinson/EMPICS Sport

Former deputy Prime Minister Geoffrey Howe said the tournament, which was held in Italy, would provide a "natural focus for hooligan activity" and the withdrawal of England was discussed in a government committee.

In a letter to then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on 27 September, 1989, Mr Howe said the idea was dropped because it was feared "determined hooligans" would head to Italy anyway.

For more on this story go to ITV Granada.

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Margaret Aspinall: Boris apology 'doesn't mean a thing to me'

Margaret Aspinall, chairwoman of the Hillsborough Families Support Group, who lost her son James, 18, in the tragedy, said Mayor of London Boris Johnson's apology "doesn't mean a thing to me".

Margaret Aspinall during yesterday's press conference at Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral. Credit: Peter Byrne/PA Wire

She said: "What he has got to understand is that we were speaking the truth for 23 years and apologies have only started to come today from them because of yesterday.

"It's too little, too late. It's fine to apologise afterwards. They just don't want their names in any more sleaze. No, his apology doesn't mean a thing to me."

Boris: 'Glad the myth has been nailed about drunken Liverpool fans'

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has apologised for an editorial article in The Spectator magazine when he was editor in 2004 about Liverpool fans being partly to blame for the Hillsborough disaster:

I'm glad that this independent report has finally nailed the myth that drunken fans were in any way responsible for the deaths of 96 people.

That was a lie that unfortunately and very, very regrettably got picked up in a leader in the Spectator in 2004, which I was then editing.

I went to Liverpool to apologise unreservedly for that mistake and I repeat that apology today.

Boris: 'I apologised then and I apologise now'

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has apologised for an editorial article in The Spectator magazine when he was editor in 2004 about Liverpool fans being partly to blame for the Hillsborough disaster:

I'm very, very glad that this report does lay to rest the false allegation that was made at the time about the behaviour of those fans.

I was very, very sorry in 2004 that the Spectator did carry an editorial that partially repeated those allegations, I apologised then and I apologise now.

I do hope the families of the 96 victims will take some comfort from this report and that they can reach some sort of closure.

I'm glad that this independent report has finally nailed the myth that drunken fans were in any way responsible for the deaths of 96 people.

That was a lie that unfortunately and very, very regrettably got picked up in a leader in the Spectator in 2004, which I was then editing.

I went to Liverpool to apologise unreservedly for that mistake and I repeat that apology today.

Boris in 2004: 'Police became a convenient scapegoat' in Hillsborough tragedy

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has apologised for comments he made on the Hillsborough disaster in a 2004 article in the Spectator.

He wrote:

(The Hillsborough disaster) is no excuse for Liverpool's failure to acknowledge, even to this day, the part played in the disaster by drunken fans at the back of the crowd who mindlessly tried to fight their way into the ground that Saturday afternoon.

The police became a convenient scapegoat, and the Sun newspaper a whipping-boy for daring, albeit in a tasteless fashion, to hint at the wider causes of the incident.

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