THE new justice minister visited Bournemouth and told the Echo it was right apologies had been made after the damning Hillsborough report.

Chris Grayling was visiting Nick King , the Conservative candidate hoping to become the Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).

Mr Grayling said: “I think it's right that everybody has put their hands up and said 'we are sorry'.

“The important thing now is that the attorney general goes through due process including issues around the inquests and whether to refer that issue back to the high court.”

The panel concluded there been numerous mistakes then a cover up following the 1989 football disaster, which saw 96 Liverpool fans crushed to death.

There have also been calls for criminal prosecutions of police officers.

The match commander Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield, who falsely said fans had broken into the ground when officers had in fact opened a gate, now lives in West Parley, and was the subject of a failed private prosecution for manslaughter.

Mr Grayling said: “Clearly there will be further processes to go through and the home office has been very clear that if necessary there will be criminal investigations.

“It's important to bear in mind, since we are dealing with something where there's been a failure of process, we must not fail again, we have to get the process right, out of responsibility to the families.”

Some commentators said the disaster and cover-up have proven the case for PCCs, as elected officials who could then be held accountable.

Mr Grayling, who was speaking at the Cumberland Hotel on the East Cliff said he did not think the issues could be linked.

He said: “The PCC role is more for the public locally. His job is to sit down with the Chief Constable and say 'you are not doing what the public want'.

“It's not saying we need to arrest this particular person, it's about saying for example 'you are not putting enough focus on the town centres'.”