BBC apologises for Hillsborough 'error'

The BBC has issued an apology after a Radio 1 broadcast claimed that Liverpool fans were to blame for the Hillsborough disaster.

A lunchtime news bulletin yesterday suggested that an official report had accused the football club's supporters of being responsible for the tragedy, which resulted in the deaths of 96 people.

In a statement today, the corporation said: "Yesterday on Newsbeat at 12.45 we broadcast an item on the Hillsborough disaster in which 96 people were killed.

"We said an official report blamed Liverpool supporters for too many fans getting into one part of the stadium that day.

"This was wrong and we would like to apologise to listeners offended by our report and for this error."

The disaster occurred at Sheffield Wednesday's stadium during the FA Cup semi-final between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool on April 15, 1989.

96 people were crushed to death after large numbers of Liverpool fans headed to the two already-full central pens at the Leppings Lane end of the ground. An official inquiry later found that failures in police control were the main cause of the tragedy.

In November 2007, the BBC was forced to apologise after an EastEnders character appeared to blame football hooliganism for the disaster. The broadcaster insisted that viewers had misinterpreted the comment.