Hillsborough Wikipedia edits ‘came from Whitehall’

It has been alleged that government computers were used to make offensive edits to the Hillsborough Wikipedia page. Picture: Contributed

Anonymous alterations to the Wikipedia page about the tragedy were made from computers on Whitehall’s secure intranet, the Liverpool Echo said.

The newspaper said revisions to the online encyclopaedia began five years ago on the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, and again in 2012.

Among the reported amendments to the Hillsborough section was an insertion saying “Blame Liverpool fans”, and two years go the phrase “You’ll never walk alone” was altered to “You’ll never walk again” and later “You’ll never w*** alone.”

A spokeswoman for the Cabinet Office said: “We thank the Liverpool Echo for bringing this to our attention. This is a matter that we will treat with the utmost seriousness and are making urgent inquiries.

“No one should be in any doubt of the Government’s position regarding the Hillsborough disaster and its support for the families of the 96 victims and all those affected by the tragedy.”

Margaret Aspinall, from the Hillsborough Family Support Group, told the Echo the revelations had been deeply upsetting.

She said: “I don’t even know how to react, it’s just so sad. I hear something like that and it upsets me a great deal, it makes me incredibly sad. I’m glad somebody has found out about it but I’m frightened to be honest that we haven’t known until now.”

DCMS, Treasury IP addresses

The Echo claimed the entries were made from IP addresses used by computers in government departments, including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Treasury and the Office of the Solicitor General.

Further changes included altering the description of a statue of Liverpool’s renowned former manager Bill Shankly on the Anfield Wikipedia page from “He made the people happy” to “He made a wonderful lemon drizzle cake”.

A government computer was also reportedly used to change the phrase “This is Anfield”, which is in the players’ tunnel at the club’s stadium, to “This is a S***hole”.

A description of the Hillsborough memorial at Anfield was also changed to include “nothing for the victims of the Heysel stadium disaster”, referring to the match in Brussels, Belgium in 1985 between Liverpool and Juventus at which 39 people died.

Sheila Coleman, from the Hillsborough Justice Campaign, said it was “very saddening” that the changes came from within government and called for an investigation.

She told the Echo: “We’re still in the inquests and we’ve sat listening to the most heartbreaking accounts of that day, and then you hear about things like this. It’s absolutely appalling, disgraceful.”

New inquests are being held into the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans who were crushed to death during the April 1989 FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough in Sheffield.

They were ordered after new evidence revealed by the Independent Panel Report led to the quashing of the original 1991 inquest verdicts in the High Court in 2012.