The British National Police Command Council and Police College have apologized to the survivors and families of the victims of the 1989 Hillsborough stadium disaster in which 97 Liverpool fans died.
The Hillsborough stadium witnessed the worst sporting disaster in Britain, when 96 Liverpool fans were killed as a result of being trampled and stampede before the 1989 FA Cup semi-final match. The last victim died 32 years after the disaster after suffering from severe, irreversible brain damage.
Initially, the police blamed drunken fans, which was rejected by the survivors, the families of the victims and a large section of Liverpool fans who have fought for years to get enough information about what happened.
An independent investigation later acquitted the masses of any responsibility.
Andy Marsh, Chief Constable and Chief Executive of the Police College, said - in a statement - "The police have deeply failed those who have been bereaved by the Hillsborough disaster for many years, and we regret that the service has been sorely wrong in this regard."
"The failures of the police were the main cause of the tragedy and have continued to haunt their family members ever since. When leadership was most needed, the bereaved were treated without empathy, coordination and oversight," he added.
Martin Hoyt, chairman of the British National Police Chiefs' Council, said he was "deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life" and "the suffering endured by the families of the 97 victims" since that day and the years that followed.
"Collectively, the changes that have taken place since the Hillsborough disaster in the wake of the Reverend James Jones' report are intended to ensure that the horrific conditional errors that have occurred since that day are never repeated," he added.
And in 2019, the judiciary acquitted former police chief David Dukinfield, the police chief in charge of operations at the stadium, of manslaughter, which shocked the survivors and families of the victims.