Sir
Oliver Popplewell, 84, contrasted the "quiet dignity and great courage" of the relatives of 56 people killed in the blaze at
Valley Parade in May
1985 to that of the
Hillsborough campaigners, who are pushing for the release of government papers related to the tragedy.
"The citizens of
Bradford behaved with quiet dignity and great courage. They did not harbour conspiracy theories. They did not seek endless further inquiries," he wrote in a letter to
The Times.
"They buried their
dead, comforted the bereaved and succoured the injured. They organised a sensible compensation scheme and moved on. Is there, perhaps, a lesson there for the Hillsborough campaigners?"
Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary and
Everton supporter, said the letter was "insulting and ill-considered".
"The terrible tragedies at Bradford and Hillsborough are simply not comparable, said
Burnham.
"After Hillsborough, an immediate campaign of denigration began against
Liverpool supporters.
"We all feel deeply for the families of Bradford who lost loved ones but they didn't have to pick up newspapers to find sickening slurs about their friends.
"What we've been fighting against all these years is an
Establishment stitch-up. It seems the Establishment is still closing ranks and fighting the victims," he added.
"Sir
Oliver perhaps needs to go back and reflect."
Wirral MP
Alison McGovern, who sobbed in
Parliament on Monday as Members voted unanimously to release government papers on the disaster, said Popplewell's comments were a "disgrace".
"The idea that he thinks it appropriate to tell the families they've been 'undignified' is disgusting.
"When I first moved to
London in
1999 I had to correct people all the time about what happened. Every time you have to set the record straight it hurts."
Popplewell, once one of
England's most distinguished
High Court judges, oversaw two inquiries into crowd safety after the
Bradford fire, and took evidence from
Brussel's
Heysel Stadium disaster at the
1985 European Cup final, in which 39 people died following disorder between
Juventus and Liverpool fans.
Steve Rotheram, the MP for
Liverpool Walton who read out the names of the 96 dead in Parliament, said the comments revealed "prejudice and ignorance".
"Was there a conspiracy after the Bradford fire?
"Did the
Government try to blame
Bradford City fans for setting fire to the stadium on purpose?" he said.
Margaret Aspinall, whose son
James, 18, died and who chairs the Hillsborough
Family Support Group, said she had recently met a survivor of the Valley Parade blaze.
"He shook my hand and put his arms around me and said: 'Well done for the campaign you are doing'.
"There is a message there for Sir Oliver Popplewell. How dare he say things like that? He ought to be ashamed of himself."
Popplewell could not be reached yesterday. His clerk at
Brick Court Chambers said: "He's got no further comment to make."
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- published: 20 Oct 2011
- views: 12794