The Staggers

The New Statesman’s rolling politics blog

The Sun apologises for Hillsborough but it won't be forgiven

Suspicion persists that the paper's real motive is a commercial one.

By George Eaton Published 13 September 2012 9:07

A poster urging people to boycott the Sun. Photograph: Getty Images.

A poster urging people to boycott the Sun is pasted to a wall near Liverpool's Anfield stadium. Photograph: Getty Images.

The Sun was undoubtedly right to lead with Hillsborough on its front page this morning. It would have been hopelessly evasive to relegate the story to a later section.

Some have accused the paper of attempting to divert the blame for its smears onto the police, as Kelvin MacKenzie did yesterday ("I too was totally misled"). But its editorial, at least, offers something close to an unconditional apology.

[I]t is to the eternal discredit of The Sun that we reported as fact this misinformation which tarnished the reputation of Liverpool fans including the 96 victims.

Today we unreservedly apologise to the Hillsborough victims, their families, Liverpool supporters, the city of Liverpool and all our readers for that misjudgment.

The role of a newspaper is to uncover injustice. To forensically examine the claims made by those who are in positions of power.

In the aftermath of the Hillsborough tragedy we failed.

This isn't the first time that the title has attempted to make amends for its coverage of the deaths. In 2004 after Wayne Rooney was criticised for selling his life story to the tabloid, it ran a full-page editorial, stating that it had "committed the most terrible mistake in its history", and apologising "without reservation". Rooney, it said, should not be punished for its "past sins".

That apology was not accepted and, one expects, this one won't be received any differently. Merseyside's 23-year boycott of the paper, which led sales in the area to fall from around 55,000 a day to 12,000, will almost certainly continue (many newsagents refuse to stock it as a matter of principle), and suspicion will persist that the paper's real motive is a commercial one.

Hillsborough, unsurprisingly, is on the front of almost all of today's papers (the Mail's front page is particularly poignant), with the notable exception of the Daily Telegraph which, bizarrely, makes no reference to the story on its front page. The Daily Express, meanwhile, acknowledges a "shocking cover-up", but rather spoils the effect with its main headline, "Migrants blamed for surge in crime".

Tags: The Sun Hillsborough disaster

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8 comments

Thu, 2012-09-13 20:30 — john woods (not verified)

I think that's six or seven articles about apologoies for Hillsborough in one issue: monomania, anyone?

Fri, 2012-09-14 09:38 — bill23 (not verified)

John, do yourself a favour buy a hammer and hit yourself repeatedly over the head with it. It can't do any harm, and might do some good.

Fri, 2012-09-14 09:38 — bill23 (not verified)

John, do yourself a favour buy a hammer and hit yourself repeatedly over the head with it. It can't do any harm, and might do some good.

Thu, 2012-09-13 19:11 — Fun Addict (not verified)

I bought the paper today just to see what they had to say. You can just sense they despise having to apologise to people they undoubtedly detest. I personally believe they were in cahoots with the police to save the reputation of the police and knew exactly what they were doing all along.
They probably didn't bank on the people of Liverpool giving them such a fight for 23 years. Ultimately though this vile rag only exists cos so it somehow appeals to a huge amount of people.

Thu, 2012-09-13 17:50 — tory troll (not verified)

Since apologies are now so fashionable, when is someone gonna apologise for Heysel?

Fri, 2012-09-14 10:04 — John Goodman (not verified)

And who would that be? LFC as a club have made apologies to Juventus. The individuals who committed the crime were moronic vandals. However the deaths would not have happened in Heysel if it were not for appalling policing and a totally inadequate stadium - much like Hillsborough. I have no sympathy with the Heysel idiots and every sympathy with the families of the victims there - but they were not systematically slandered, lied about and their families abused by the very people who were supposed to protect them and report accurately on their tragic deaths.

Thu, 2012-09-13 13:33 — S Hodge (not verified)

I quote: "The role of a newspaper is to uncover injustice. To forensically examine the claims made by those who are in positions of power." Ha ha. When has that ever happened in The Sun? All they've ever wanted to do is sell papers and they'll go to almost any lengths to do that. With a bit of luck they'll eventually go down the same drain as the News of the World.

Thu, 2012-09-13 09:27 — JSebire (not verified)

They don't help themselves, do they?! Firstly the lay out of the front cover makes their apology the third point with normal scansion. Also coming where it does it seems like it's implying "sorry we believed those lying coppers, just as Kelvin did. Then it saves it's real (?) contrition for editorial which, sorry editors, will statistically be read by far fewer.

The apology should have been the headline.