Sorry seems to be the easiest word, Dave
CALL Me Dave will stand up in the House of Commons tomorrow and apologise to the families of the 96 Liverpool fans who died in the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. His statement of ‘ regret’ will coincide with the publication of a new report into the causes of the appalling tragedy that unfolded on the overcrowded terraces at the Lepping’s Lane End.
Let’s hope that the findings of the independent inquiry, chaired by the Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, will finally put the matter to rest.
Families, friends and those who were there on the day have waited 23 long years for answers. They won’t be satisfied until someone is called to account, preferably in handcuffs.
A 1990 inquiry by Lord Justice Taylor laid the blame for the loss of life squarely at the feet of the police, but this wasn’t enough to quench the thirst for retribution.
Unless the inquiry names specific individuals and organisations it believes to be responsible, the sense of injustice will continue to fester.
Cameron’s statement will come in response to demands from campaigners. But what purpose will it serve?
Soothing words from the Prime Minister will not salve the hurt, which burns as fiercely today as it did almost a quarter of a century ago in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.
The Hillsborough campaigners want prosecutions, not platitudes.
In the event of the inquiry turning up something criminal that has remained hidden for 23 THE Halifax has been forced to pay com-pensay-shun to a customer who complained about a remark directed at her hair colour. Redhead Laura Payton, from Wolverhampton, took umbrage when a member of staff joked: ‘I bet your daughter is glad she isn’t ginger like you.’ Halifax gave her £150 and an apology after she likened the remark to ‘racism’. Oh, for heaven’s sake. She deserves to be beaten like a ginger stepchild. Still, once the principle of discrimination is conceded, years, the law will have to take its course.
There was no need for Call Me Dave to involve himself. He should have left it to the Bishop of Liverpool, a man trusted and admired in the city.
Cameron is on a hiding to nothing. Unless he can promise prosecutions, which he can’t, he will inevitably be accused of betraying the 96.
Does he really believe that a few well-chosen words of commiseration from a Bullingdon Club Tory toff will resonate on Merseyside?
But when Cameron signalled that he intended to be the ‘heir to Blair’, he wasn’t kidding. This is exactly the kind of stunt Blair would have pulled.
After the ‘success’ of his stomachchurning ‘ People’s Princess’ routine, Blair embraced empathy there’s no limit. Difference soon becomes victimhood and a get-out-of-jail card. Last week, I brought you news of a Muslim chemist found not guilty of sexual harassment because of his ‘culture’. No wonder Rebekah Brooks, former chief executive of News International, is confident that she will be acquitted. Miss Brooks, you are charged with perverting the course of justice and phone hacking. How do you plead? Ginger. Case dismissed. big time. He apologised for everything from slavery to the Irish potato famine.
Gordon Brown even tried to get in on the act, laughably, issuing a formal apology to children forcibly evacuated to Canada during World War II.
Now Dave’s picked up the bouncing ball of cost-free compassion. He’s already said sorry for Bloody Sunday, which happened when he was five. You might have thought that an inquiry which lasted 12 years and cost British taxpayers the thick end of £200 million was apology enough.
Mind you, if Blair can apologise for the treatment of the Aborigines by the early English settlers in Australia, Cameron has a smorgasbord of contrition from which to choose.
The Peterloo massacre, the Highland Clearances, the Tolpuddle Martyrs. Go for it, Dave.
Contrary to what Elton John would have you believe, in the wonderful world of Westminster, sorry seems to be the easiest word.
Politicians have no problem apologising for something horrible that occurred before they came to office — or, in some cases, before they were even born — and for which they can’t be blamed.
It’s just a pity Cameron can’t be bothered to apologise for some of the things for which he is responsible: failing to win a majority at the last election; appointing Vince Cable as Business Secretary; breaking his promises on a European referendum and yuman rites. And that’s just for starters.
Still, maybe there’s method in his madness. This could be a cynical ploy to distance himself from Boris Johnson, who is making no secret of his determination to replace Cameron as Conservative leader and Prime Minister.
You may recall that when Boris was combining the job of editing The Spectator with being a Tory MP, he was ordered to Liverpool by Michael Howard to apologise in person for an editorial accusing the city of wallowing in self-pity and victim status.
Perhaps Dave believes that by wringing his hands over Hillsborough he can put ‘clear blue water’ between himself and Boris.
In which case, I fear he may be horribly mistaken.
The only clear blue water they have for Old Etonian Conservative politicians in Liverpool is in the middle of the Mersey.