British disaster coverage ‘wrong’

Press, 1 August 1989, Page 6

British disaster coverage ‘wrong’

NZPA-PA London Most newspaper coverage of the Hillsborough disaster including that , of the “Sun” newspaper was a mistake, said the editor of the “Sun,” Kelvin MacKenzie. In future his paper would adopt a different attitude towards the coverage of disasters, Mr MacKenzie said. He conceded that he personally had made “rather a serious error” in publishing, four days after the tragedy, a story alleging some fans picked the pockets of victims, urinated on the police and beat up a police officer giving the kiss of life. Mr MacKenzie spoke out in the wake of the publication of the Press Council report

The council ruled that publication of pictures of a large section of the Hillsborough crowd trapped behind the steel fence in “distress, pain and fear” was justified But other pictures showing individuals or a very small group in terror and torture were an intrusion into personal agony and grief too gross to be justified.

Mr MacKenzie was questioned on radio about the “Sun’s” publication of a full-page picture of some of the victims, accompanied by a quotation from a father: "I saw my girls die.”

He replied: “We published it because it was a moving plea from the father and a moving picture of the victims who had suffered, i There was no other ulterior motive.”