Tuesday, November 01, 2011

David Cameron Apologizes For Offensive Hillsborough Remarks

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron apologized for comments he made about the "Justice for the 96" campaign. A Downing Street spokeswoman claims his words were misinterpreted and he did not intend to offend victims' families, according to the Daily Mail.

"The Prime Minister regrets if any offence has been caused," the spokeswoman said. "He didn't in any way mean any offence. His intention was quite the opposite. He was actually expressing his sympathy for how hard it can be to find closure coming to terms with grief."

In April 1989, 96 Liverpool fans were killed and hundreds more were injured because of overcrowding in the stands at Hillsborough Stadium. Early newspaper reports blamed the tragedy on Liverpool fans. Subsequent investigations cited crowd mismanagement by local police as the principle cause of the tragedy.

Since then, the victims and their families have tirelessly campaigned for authorities and officials to release all documents and information relating to the Hillsborough tragedy. The campaign is an effort to "clear the names of the dead," according to Brian Reece.

Cameron compared the campaign to "a blind man, in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there," prompting an outcry.

During the PM's question time in Parliament, Cameron was pressed by Liverpool MP Luciana Berger to apologize for the comparison. She called them "grossly offensive" to the victims and their families.

No comments: