The leader of Ukip Paul Nuttall is facing more shame and embarrassment today after admitting that a claim from 2012 on his website that he lost a loved one at Hillsborough is false.
On his website five years ago, Nuttall wrote: “Without them being made public we will never get to the bottom of that appalling tragedy when 96 Liverpool fans including close personal friends of mine lost their lives.”
But when confronted by Liverpool’s Radio City News today, cited by the Guardian, Nuttall admitted that wasn’t actually the case:
“I haven’t lost a close, personal friend. I’ve lost someone who I know,” he said.
“I’m sorry about that, but that is something … I haven’t put that out. That is wrong.”
Nuttall maintains that he was at Hillsborough in 1989 on the day of the disaster, but records from the politician’s Bootle School (he was 12 at the time and those who attended were marked down) suggest this is also false.
What’s more, a fellow pupil from Savio high school who claims he’s been friends with Nuttall for 25 years told the Guardian he’d never heard him mention the disaster – or being at it.
Finally, the Hillsborough Families Support Group has quite reasonably asked why, if Nuttall was present, he’s never contacted them or expressed any support.
This smells like a rat to us, and is an appalling example of someone trying to use the Hillsborough disaster for personal game and sympathy.
Disgusting.