THE editor of The Sun last night apologised for his newspaper’s role in the Hillsborough tragedy cover-up.

Its front page four days after the 1989 tragedy included claims Liverpool fans had urinated on police officers and stolen from the dead.

The Sun’s report caused widespread revulsion in the city and led to an near-total boycott of the paper on Merseyside that exists to this day.

The newspaper’s editor at the time, Kelvin MacKenzie, yesterday offered his profuse apologies for the story’s headline, The Truth, which he wrote.

Last night, current editor Dominic Mohan said: “Twentythree years ago The Sun newspaper made a terrible mistake.

“We published an inaccurate and offensive story about the events at Hillsborough.

“We said it was the truth – it wasn’t.

“The Hillsborough Independent Panel has now established what really happened that day.

It’s an appalling story and at the heart of it are the police’s attempts to smear Liverpool fans.

“It’s a version of events that 23 years ago The Sun went along with and for that we are deeply ashamed and profoundly sorry.

“We’ve co-operated fully with the Hillsborough Independent Panel and will publish reports of their findings in tomorrow’s newspaper. We will also reflect our deep sense of shame.”

In a statement, MacKenzie said he was “totally misled”.

The Sun’s front-page four days after the tragedy included claims Liverpool fans had urinated on police officers resuscitating the dying and stolen from the dead.

But MacKenzie’s apology was rejected by Trevor Hicks, of the Hillsborough Families Support Group, who said it was “too little, too late” and calling him “lowlife, clever lowlife, but lowlife”.