Media coverage of the Hillsborough disaster (1989) and the Grenfell Tower fire (2017) exposes systemic failures in British journalism that prolonged injustice and protected powerful institutions.
In both cases, the media amplified official narratives that blamed victims, failed to scrutinise authorities, and marginalised working-class and minority communities.
These were not isolated errors but structural problems rooted in weak investigative practice, commercial pressures, and over-reliance on official sources.
Hillsborough: Manufacturing Blame
The Hillsborough disaster on 15 April 1989 ultimately caused the deaths of 97 Liverpool supporters. Four days later, The Sun published the headline “The Truth”, falsely accusing fans of drunken violence and interference with rescue efforts. These claims, later admitted by police to be fabrications, were reported as fact. Other outlets, including the Daily Express and the BBC, repeated police accounts without verification, embedding falsehoods into public understanding.
Example: The Sun’s Front Page, 19 April 1989
The Sun’s front page carried three sub-headings beneath its headline: “Some fans picked pockets of victims,” “Some fans urinated on the brave cops,” and “Some fans beat up PC giving kiss of life.” These allegations came from unnamed police sources, the local Conservative MP, and a South Yorkshire Police Federation spokesperson. None were independently verified. The claims were later comprehensively discredited by the Hillsborough Independent Panel in 2012 and the 2016 inquest jury. Wikipedia gives an overview of the coverage and its long aftermath [R038].
Some newspapers, such as the Daily Mirror and the Liverpool Echo, rejected these claims, showing that editorial judgement could have prevented the spread of misinformation. Mirror reporters checked the police claims and could not substantiate them; one, Ted Oliver, reportedly said he would resign if his name appeared on the story. Instead, the Mirror ran with the more cautious headline: “Fury as police claim victims were robbed.”
Key Contrast: Different Editorial Choices
The fact that some newsrooms rejected the police narrative while others amplified it demonstrates that this was a failure of editorial judgement, not an unavoidable consequence of chaotic reporting conditions. The Liverpool Echo, closest to the community and its sources, was among the most cautious. The Sun, under editor Kelvin MacKenzie, pushed ahead despite internal misgivings about the story’s reliability.
Media narratives aligned with longstanding stereotypes of football fans and Liverpool as unruly and disorderly. Media academic Chris Horrie has argued that The Sun treated Liverpool as essentially a foreign country from the mid-1980s onwards, linked to the city’s multiracial culture, left-wing politics, and high unemployment. This framing dominated public discourse for 27 years, obstructing justice until the 2016 inquest ruled the deaths unlawful.
- 97
- Lives lost at Hillsborough
- 27
- Years until unlawful killing verdicts (2016)
- 164
- Police statements substantially amended
- 116
- Of these had unfavourable comments removed or altered
The coverage compounded trauma and reinforced distrust between Liverpool and the national press, a distrust that endures to this day, with the city’s boycott of The Sun still active over three decades later.
Source: Hillsborough Independent Panel report (2012), paras 2.11.53–2.11.56 [R039].
Timeline: The Long Road to Justice
Disaster at Hillsborough. The Sun publishes “The Truth.” A boycott of the paper begins on Merseyside.
First inquests return verdicts of “accidental death.” Families dispute the findings and campaign for new inquests.
Lord Justice Stuart-Smith concludes there is no justification for a new inquiry. Families are devastated.
Hillsborough Independent Panel established by the government to review all evidence.
The Panel’s report reveals the full extent of the cover-up, including 164 altered police statements. PM David Cameron apologises. The Sun issues a front-page apology.
New inquest jury returns verdicts of unlawful killing for the 96 people whose deaths it examined. Fans formally cleared of any responsibility.
Andrew Devine, injured in the disaster, dies; a coroner rules that he was unlawfully killed, the 97th victim of Hillsborough.
IOPC publishes its final report, confirming fundamental failures by South Yorkshire Police and the defensive approach adopted in the aftermath.
Key Reference
The Hillsborough Independent Panel’s full report (2012), which drew on more than 450,000 pages of documents from 85 organisations, is available on GOV.UK [R039]. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) published its final report on the police response in 2025 [R040].