Following the Hillsborough Independent Panel's report of their findings, Prime Minister David Cameron spoke on the matter, insisting "Liverpool fans were not the cause of the disaster" and apologising for governments then and since not doing enough to find justice for the victims and their families, though in the end he does not believe there was a coordinated effort by the government of Margaret Thatcher to cover up the truth.
"It is already very clear that many of the report's findings are deeply distressing," began Cameron in a statement that frequently quoted the panel's report. "The failure of the authorities to help protect people, the attempt to blame the fans, and the doubt cast on the original inquest. There is a trail of new evidence to show that the safety of supporters at Hillsborough was 'compromised at every level.'
"The ground failed to meet minimum standards and the 'deficiencies were well known.' The turnstiles were inadequate. The ground capacity had been significantly over-calculated. The crush barriers failed to meet safety standards. There had been a crush at exactly the same match the year before. And today’s report shows clearly that lessons had not been learnt.
"Second, the families have long believed that some of the authorities attempted to create a completely unjust account of events that sought to blame the fans for what happened. Mr Speaker, the families were right. The evidence in today’s report includes briefings to the media and attempts by the Police to change the record of events.
"The Report finds that this was part of police efforts—and I quote—'to develop and publicise a version of events that focused on allegations of drunkenness, ticketlessness and violence.' Today’s Report finds that 164 statements were significantly amended—and 116 explicitly removed negative comments about the policing operation—including its lack of leadership.
"But having been through every document—and every government document including Cabinet Minutes will be published—the Panel found no evidence of any government trying to conceal the truth. [However,] governments then and since have simply not done enough to challenge publicly the unjust and untrue narrative that sought to blame the fans.
"What happened that day and since was wrong. It was wrong that the families have had to wait so long and fight so hard to get the truth. On behalf of the Government—and indeed our country—I am profoundly sorry for this double injustice that has been left uncorrected for so long."
Cameron further went on to state in the House of Commons that the arbitrary 3:15PM cut-off used in the original investigation to ignore any response to the tragedy after that point on the grounds that all the victims who could have been saved on the day had already died was a disgraceful action that made it difficult for victims in search of justice and closure in the tragedy's aftermath.