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?”