Will Jeremy Hunt Become Rhyming Slang?

Answer: only if he keeps thinking before he speaks. In trying to praise the England supporters in South Africa, you see, Mr Hunt (the Culture Secretary) decided to draw comparisons between the sensible behaviour at this tournament, and say, the hooliganism of Heysel. And Hillsborough.

Ah.

Now, both Heysel and Hillsborough were terrible disasters. But they are very different disasters. Heysel, which occurred in 1985, was a result of Liverpool fans deciding that breaking through a fence to attack Juventus fans was a good idea. It wasn't. The Juventus fans tried to scarper, got crushed against a wall, and 39 people died, 32 of them Juventus supporters. Unsurprisingly, Liverpool were banned from European football, and quite rightly so.

Hillsborough, however, was not the result of Liverpool supporters running amok; far from it. What happened at Hillsborough was ultimately more tragic: many supporters were late for the match, and the police desperately tried to get fans in through a few entrances. It was a fatal mistake. The rush of people was too great, and people began to be crushed against the fence at the front of the terrace: again, common sense on behalf of the police would have saved many lives, as two policemen on horseback at the front would have at least broken up the crowd. Instead, South Yorkshire Police were left with the very brutal consequences; 96 Liverpool fans dead, only 14 of which actually reached a hospital.

Does that sound like hooliganism to you? It doesn't to me. It sounds like a number of failures by a police force to keep control, which is what the Taylor Report later concluded. Very different from Heysel, though Heysel still retains the power to shock the neutral.

So methinks Jeremy Hunt should actually go and watch a Liverpool game at some point. It might just be that he hears the following chant that's been going for over 20 years: "Justice for the 96". Though he might want to pick an away game first, mightn't he?

The Evening Stanners

PS I can't help but feel saying sorry to Liverpool is becoming a legal requirement for prominent Conservatives. Boris Johnson a few years ago, anyone?

PPS Ooh, Michael Howard (former Conservative Party leader) is a Liverpool fan! Perhaps my hypothesis needs work...