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New role for journalist who quit over Hillsborough coverage

Tony BarrettA former Liverpool Echo sports journalist who stood up to the national newspaper he now works for over its Hillsborough inquests coverage is leaving for a new role.

Tony Barrett, left, is leaving The Times to take up a new job with men’s website Joe.co.uk at the end of this month.

Earlier this year Tony apologised on Twitter on behalf of his paper when it failed to run a front page story on the inquests’ verdicts in April the day after they were announced.

Tony, who serves as the paper’s Merseyside football correspondent, worked at the Echo as its Liverpool FC reporter until May 2013.

The Echo fought for 27 years to get justice for the families of 96 of the club’s supporters who died in a crush at Sheffield’s Hillsborough stadium in 1989.

The inquests’ jury ruled on 26 April the fans had been unlawfully killed following a two year-long hearing, with all nationals bar The Times and its News UK sister title The Sun carrying a story about the verdict on their front pages the following day.

The Sun has been widely boycotted in Liverpool since it ran a story immediately after the tragedy suggesting fans urinated on police, pick-pocketed dead victims and prevented police officers from performing CPR on the Hillsborough pitch.

After the first edition of The Times for the 27 April was posted on social media, Tony tweeted: “Unbelievable.”

He later followed this up with: “To everyone who’s been let down I’m so sorry.”

The Times later amended its front page for its second edition.

The newspaper did not respond to HTFP’s request for a comment.

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  • August 6, 2016 at 11:04 am
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    I’ve every sympathy for the families. However, many of us in the media also believe the Echo has trawled through other papers to find even the merest hint of lack of compassion about Hillsborough – and then whipped up a story.
    If I were the editor of a national paper I would take it as my right and my responsibility to decide what goes on the front page – not a soccer reporter.

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