THE TIMES OF London newspaper has admitted it should have put coverage of the Hillsborough inquests on their front page today.
Yesterday, after two inquiries and 27 years of fighting, a jury at the inquests into the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans at an FA Cup semi-final on 15 April 1989 ruled that they were unlawfully killed.
While the ruling, which means criminal prosecutions may be sought, made international news and led the front pages of nearly every paper in Britain, it was absent from two.
The Sun, which in the days following the disaster published a front-page story headline “The Truth” that claimed fans urinated on police and stole from the dead, and its sister paper The Times.
While the Sun’s front page is not surprising, many felt that The Times would have led with the story, including the paper’s Merseyside football writer Tony Barrett.
In a statement today, the Rupert Murdoch-owned paper admitted not leading with the news was a mistake. They said that it had been rectified in its second edition.
While The Sun has not made a similar comment, the editor who ran the 1989 front page issued a statement apologising for it.
The Independent quotes Kelvin MacKenzie as saying the verdicts were an “important step in obtaining justice”.
“As I have said before, the headline I published was wrong and I am profoundly sorry for the hurt caused. Clearly, I was wrong to take the police’s version of events at face value and it is a mistake I deeply regret.”
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