Sun – which published infamous front page blaming fans in 1989 – relegates historic inquest verdict to page 8, while Times changes front for later editions

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The Sun newspaper has come under fire for not mentioning the Hillsborough inquest verdict on its front page.



How the Sun's 'truth' about Hillsborough unravelled Read more

The story also did not appear on the front page of its sister paper, the Times, for its first edition, although it was later changed to include a picture of the victims’ relatives.

Both newspapers are owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

Four days after the 1989 tragedy the Sun ran a front-page story proclaiming to tell “The Truth” about the disaster, which left 96 people dead.

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

Despite not covering the verdict of the two-year inquest – which cleared the fans of any fault – on the front page, the paper ran a double-page spread on the outcome on pages 8 and 9, and covered it in its main editorial column.

The leader column states that after 27 years the “Hillsborough families finally have their first measure of justice”.

It adds: “Whether they get more is in the hands of the CPS [Crown prosecution service]. 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 Superintendent David Duckenfield – which were shamefully then covered up …

“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.”

The absence of coverage of the Hillsborough inquest on Wednesday’s front page led to criticism of the paper, with many voicing their anger via Twitter.

On Tuesday night “The Sun” became a trending topic on Twitter in the UK, with more than 124,000 tweets using the term.

Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker said the decision not to run the story on the front page was “as disgusting as it is unsurprising. They have no shame.”

Krishnan Guru-Murthy (@krishgm) That's a v depressing shock. The one-time paper of record sides with The Sun on Hillsborough. https://t.co/F2Ny4JoxrR

Tony Barrett, the Times’ Merseyside football writer, tweeted, though without direct reference to his newspaper’s front page: “Unbelievable.”

A photo of the families outside the Warrington court room appeared on later editions of the Times, along with a trailer for its coverage, including an editorial comment.

The Times Pictures (@TimesPictures) The Times 27 04 16 Front (2nd edition) pic.twitter.com/LSqXtHMd2h

In 2012 the Sun ran a front page called “The Real Truth” in which the paper announced it was “profoundly sorry for false reports”.

On Tuesday former editor of the Sun Kelvin MacKenzie, who oversaw the 1989 story blaming 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.”

Talking on Sky News’s press preview, the Sun’s political editor, Tom Newton Dunn, said the police were at the “core” of the whole story and the paper was misled by them.

He said if people were still angry over the 1989 front page, he “completely understands”, adding: “We deserve everything that is thrown our way.”