RED ALL ABOUT IT

NEWS ROUND UP

Shop before you Kop

WITH official merchandise off the shopping list for a lot of Reds right now, the search is on for alternative match-day clobber.

And Hat, Scarf or a Badge at 371 Walton Breck Road (by the Flat Iron) is well worth a visit for threads that won’t break the bank, pay Hicks & Gillett’s debt, or make you look like a whopper.

The shop does what it says on the tin in that sells hats, scarfs and badges. But it also stocks Well Red (ahem) and is the only official seller on Merseyside for the Spirit of Shankly’s merchandise. All profits from SOS items go straight to the union.

Hat, Scarf or a Badge also stocks a range of books and DVDs by fans and local authors.

Order online at: hatscarf-or-a-badge.com

Board silly

A SURVEY of fans by The Times found that Liverpool’s board of directors is the second most unpopular in the Premier League. The only surprise was it was pipped for the lowest rating by Portsmouth’s directors, who brought the south coast club close to extinction. Who gave Anfield’s suits the thumbs up? They might have changed their minds when their season ticket renewal arrived. A seven per cent pay rise after the worst league finish in 11 years? And 50 notes more if you ring up or turn up at the ticket office? Genius.

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WORRIES OVER JUSTICEITDIDN’Ttakelong,didit?NosoonerisaTorygovernmentinpower(isthereapointtotheLibDems?)andthesameoldslurs about Hillsborough are being trotted out.

disasters this country has ever seen. We have been through this many times, and at the twentieth anniversary I thought the country had gone beyond it.”

For those that missed it, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on live TV that he was “incredibly encouraged by the example set by the England fans.”

He added: “I mean, not a single arrest for a football-related offence, and the terrible problems that we had in Heysel and Hillsborough in the 1980s seem now to be behind us”.

For a government minister to believe the disaster that claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool fans was caused by hooliganism is beyond belief.

He may have apologised, but that’s just a career-saving move made with the benefit of hindsight. What he really thinks - and no doubt what many of those in power believe - was exposed by his initial quote, why else are there now doubts being placed over the Hillsborough panel, established by the Labour government to investigate the mountain of secret documents relating to the disaster?

He called on Mr Hunt to give “full and unequivocal support” to the Hillsborough inquiry.

He said: “I am pleased he has made this apology, but I would ask him to go further and give full and unequivocal support for the independent Hillsborough inquiry.”

Regarding the panel, the Daily Mirror quoted a source from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport saying:

“Things are not as simple as before.”

Burnham added: “There are still misconceptions about the tragedy, even within the Cabinet.

“This is precisely why I, together with (Labour former ministers)

Maria Eagle and Derek Twigg, called for the full disclosure of all public documents relating to the disaster and the establishment of the Hillsborough Independent Panel - to give the people of Merseyside the full truth and to end these misconceptions once and for all.”

Former cabinet minister Andy Burnham (above, centre), orginally from Liverpool and central to the establishment of the panel, said Hunt’s comments about Hillsborough displayed “casual ignorance”.

He added: “It is very depressing to hear a cabinet minister make this remark, it shows a casual ignorance about one of the biggest man-made

Pointing to the newspaper report, he asked Speaker John Bercow: “Is it in order that on an issue of this significance and importance, that a change in policy can be dealt with by off-the-record briefings?

“Don’t the people of Merseyside deserve the courtesy of a minister of the crown coming to this House today to tell them exactly what they are up to?” And what a Hunt this fella is, too... EVERY heard of Councillor Russell Hawker? Thought not.

This small-time MP wannabe decided to stick his oar into Hillsborough after Jeremy Hunt’s apology.

Hawker, an independent councillor for Westbury, Wiltshire, used Twitter to claim Hunt should not have apologised.

The former Tory wrote: “Hillsborough disaster WAS caused by hooligans pushing and shoving!!!”

He followed it up with: “I sympathise with the victims, but just being real about the culprits. Pushing hard in a crowd is unruly, aggressive and dangerous.

“I regard hooliganism as root cause of Hillsborough disaster but other faults also occurred. e.g. crass police incompetence.”

The ‘tweets’ were later deleted. Unsurprisingly, Hawker was swamped with phone calls, texts, emails and tweets from angry Liverpool fans.

Not only is his ignorance and prejudice offensive, it’s people like him that have hindered the fight for justice.

For every clued-up fan complaining about Hawker, how many more around the world thought ‘no smoke without fire?’

It’s exactly the reason why The S*n is still boycotted - sh*t sticks.

Hawker snubbed Well Red’s attempts to contact him by phone, text and email. It seemed, however, the publicityhungry no-mark was happy to speak to other media outlets.

In an interview with the Liverpool Echo, it was put to him that his views were misinformed and contrary to the findings of the Taylor Report.

Lord Justice Taylor ruled South Yorkshire Police were solely to blame for the tragedy.

The cretin replied: “I don’t think I’m misinformed, I have a different view, that’s all.”

A petition calling for his resignation has been circulating in Westbury while fans have continued to contact him.

But Hawker is standing by his comments. The closest he came to an apology was: “Some of my earlier comments are being taken out of context.

“I was not talking about victims. I am very sorry to anyone who took offence.”

His blog, and Twitter account continue to tell a different story, however.

On his Twitter he revealed: “I’ve not received death threats yet but every other form of intimidation seems to have been tried by Scousers, even arranging an accident claim.”

He also tried to make light of it all, adding: “Ah well, Boris Johnson did well down south after apologising for several gaffes. Maybe I should.. no, maybe not.”

The Wiltshire Times reported him as saying: “Quite clearly a large number of people from a certain part of the UK want to keep talking about it. Some of them are abusive and are obsessed about the matter.

“I understand that they have lost relatives, but it was 21 years ago.

“Things have moved on. I don’t know how to deal with it any more than I have already. I removed the Tweets. This will have blown over in a week’s time.” Mr Hawker admitted he has no connection with Hillsborough. “I can’t say I was there but I was watching the telly on the day and saw it all happen,” he said. Hawker’s contact details are online at: cms.wiltshire.gov.uk

NEWS ROUND UP

World Cup banner slashed

A STEWARD slashed a “Save Liverpool FC” banner during the World Cup.

A group of Reds displayed banners at every match in South Africa that read: “Save Liverpool FC - Get Hicks and Gillett Out”.

Nadeem Khan, 29, was at the Germany v Australia game with his wife and three-year-old daughter when a Fifa official accused him of being a hooligan.

The Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) is investigating.

Khan, a member of the South African Liverpool Supporters Club, had displayed the banner, at the Durban Stadium just after kick-off.

Half-way through the first half, Khan saw three stewards removing it and as he approached them he was asked to follow them to the security office in the ground.

“I could not believe it,” he said. “All the other banners had been left there.

“When I got into the office, they began to lecture me about football hooliganism and went through my mobile phone.

“He cut my banner up with a Stanley blade and told me they would keep their eye on me. They noted down my ticket numbers, too.”

There was better news for the campaign when TV commentator Jonathan Pearce mentioned the banner in the Spain v Portugal game live on BBC1.

He said: “That Save Liverpool FC banner we’ve seen a few times is here again tonight.”

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