May ‘sorry’ over papers on football tragedy

Home Secretary Theresa May has insisted the government is committed to disclosing the full facts surrounding the 1989 Hillsborough football stadium disaster.

Addressing a sombre House of Commons last night, Mrs May said she was “sorry” for the anxiety caused to the families of the victims by the way the government had responded to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request seeking the release of official papers.

She said all government documents – including Cabinet minutes – had now been handed over to the independent panel set up by the former Labour government to review the papers for public release.

Once the panel had completed its work, all the documents would be made public, she said, with only “minimal redactions” covering details such as the names of junior officials and private information relating to the victims.

Ninety-six Liverpool fans died in the crush as supporters tried to enter Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield for an FA Cup semi-final on 15 April, 1989.

Mrs May said: “As Home Secretary, I will do everything in my power to ensure that the families and the public get the truth.

“No government papers will be withheld from the panel, no attempts to suppress publication will be made, no stone will be left unturned.

“The principle underlying the process is that of maximum possible disclosure, and disclosure to the families first and then to the wider public.”

Mrs May was responding in the first debate in the Commons chamber to be triggered as a result of an e-petition on the Downing Street website collecting more than 100,000 signatures. The petition was launched after the Cabinet Office turned down an FoI request for the documents to be made public.