Hillsborough disaster apologised for its treatment of the Hillsborough disaster "without reservation" in a full page opinion piece on 7 July 2004, saying it had "committed the most terrible mistake in its history" by publishing it. The apology angered some Liverpudlians further. The "Liverpool Echo" called the apology, "shabby" and "an attempt, once again, to exploit the Hillsborough dead". James Murdoch made a full apology for "The Sun" coverage when he appeared at a hearing of the House of Commons Select Committee dealing with the News International phone hacking scandal in 2012. On 12 September 2012, after the publication of the report
Kelvin MacKenzie describing the channel as "Sky Sports News meets TalkSport". The channel received investment from former Conservative Party treasurer Lord Ashcroft, who took a minority stake. MacKenzie joined "The Daily Telegraph" as an online columnist in 2013, however he was dropped by the newspaper after one column, with Roy Greenslade reporting in "The Guardian" that he was let go because of upset among staff on the "Telegraph" sports desk at his role in reporting on the Hillsborough disaster, in particular from football columnist and ex-Liverpool player Alan Hansen, who played at Hillsborough. In April 2013, "The Guardian" reported that the "Daily