Burnham demands answers on Hillsborough files

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham told the Commons he was concerned by reports that suggested Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt was "taking a new look at the issue".

The Daily Mirror quoted a source from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport saying: "Things are not as simple as before." In a point of order, Mr Burnham, who was born in Liverpool, said: "We have heard this week, 20 years on from the Hillsborough disaster, that there are still misconceptions about the tragedy, even within the Cabinet.

"This is precisely why I, together with (Labour former ministers) Maria Eagle and Derek Twigg, called for the full disclosure of all public documents relating to the disaster and the establishment of the Hillsborough Independent Panel - to give the people of Merseyside the full truth and to end these misconceptions once and for all."

Terms of reference and funding for the panel had been signed off by the Labour government before the general election, he said.

Pointing to the newspaper report, he asked Speaker John Bercow: "Is it in order that on an issue of this significance and importance, that a change in policy can be dealt with by off-the-record briefings? Don't the people of Merseyside deserve the courtesy of a minister of the Crown coming to this House today to tell them exactly what they are up to?"

Mr Bercow said that if a minister intended to "make a new commitment in terms of policy or to change a hitherto understood public policy", they should indeed tell the House first. He said he appreciated the "extreme importance" of the matter and ministers would have heard Mr Burnham's remarks.

Earlier this week, Mr Hunt was forced to apologise after apparently linking the Hillsborough disaster to hooliganism. In an interview, he said he was "incredibly encouraged by the example set by the England fans. I mean, not a single arrest for a football-related offence, and the terrible problems that we had in Heysel and Hillsborough in the 1980s seem now to be behind us".

A DCMS spokeswoman said: "The Secretary of State has apologised for any offence that his comments may have caused to Liverpool fans and the families of those killed and injured in the Hillsborough disaster.

"There is no truth whatsoever in the assertion that the terms of reference are being narrowed. Jeremy is fully supportive of the Hillsborough Independent Panel and is meeting the families to discuss its work."