Tory MP who apologised over smear on Hillsborough disaster fans dies aged 83

Sir Irvine Patnick, the former Conservative MP who recently apologised regarding comments he made at the time of the Hillsborough tragedy, has died at the age of 83.

The politician, who was MP for Sheffield Hallam from 1987 to 1997, in Margaret Thatcher and John Major’s governments, “died peacefully”, a statement from his family said.

Sir Irvine was criticised in the Hillsborough Independent Panel’s report on the Hillsborough disaster in which 96 Liverpool fans died after the crush at Sheffield Wednesday’s stadium during the 1989 FA Cup semi-final.

Following September’s report, which confirmed him as the Sun newspaper’s source for a story which smeared Liverpool fans after the disaster, he apologised for repeating “inaccurate” information.

Amid widespread revulsion at the police cover-up, which sought to shift the blame to the fans, Sir Irvine said in September he was “deeply and sincerely sorry” about his role.

He said he had passed on police information that was “inaccurate, misleading and plain wrong”.

In October, Labour MP Steve Rotherham called for Sir Irvine to be stripped of his knighthood.

In a statement issued following his death, his family said: “Sir Irvine Patnick OBE died peacefully on 30 December, 2012, aged 83, in Sheffield.

“He was a much-loved husband of Lynda and father of Suzanne and Matthew.

“He’ll be sadly missed by his brothers and by all all his family and friends.”