SORRY, whatever Sir Elton might sing, is not the hardest word. Most of us, at one time or another, have received apologies that were nothing of the sort – they were mass-produced excuses from a faceless corporation sent second class after months of wrangling.

These are the apologies that make us resent our unfair treatment all the more.

Then there are genuine apologies. We saw some this week with the publication of the report into the Hillsborough disaster.

I believe that David Cameron and South Yorkshire’s Chief Constable David Crompton are decent men genuinely horrified at the catalogue of incompetence, bad judgment and cruel deceit that the report disclosed.

Their response, and the persistent, dignified conduct of the campaigners, gives everyone cause for hope.

The best way to apologise is, or course, to ensure that the wrong-doing never happens again. I don’t think we’ve reached that stage of self-awareness or honesty yet.

When things go wrong the question is still more likely to be “how do we spin this one”

than “how do we do what’s right”.

It is a problem compounded by a mass media whose appetite for instant solutions – and scapegoats – has grown over the last 20 years. Campaigners and journalists can use new laws and technology to find out the truth, but cover-ups will continue as our leaders hold responsibility at arms-length.

The Hillsborough campaigners did us all a great service in exposing two truths: first, how 96 innocent people died because of failures by individuals and organisations in positions of trust; second, the lengths to which those in power will go to cover their backs.

It is hard to know which of the two is the more shocking.

HELL has no fury like a parent whose son or daughter doesn’t get the exam grades they expected. So I suspect Michael Gove will regret the stance he is taking on the GCSE English marking, rightly described in this newspaper as a pig’s ear.

“Working out must be shown” is an instruction I remember from the old maths papers we used to practise on. It’s this failure to tell teachers, parents and pupils that marking would be tougher that is really rankling everybody.

Exams must be a challenge if they’re to equip young people with the life skills and knowledge they need to succeed.

But unless they are fair, and are seen to be fair, they teach the wrong kind of lesson all together.

I DON’T punch the air in delight any more, but I very nearly went back to my old habits when I read these comments this week: “Sport develops your brain, helps your learning. It’s not an add-on at the end of the day. Don’t make people feel inferior if they can’t catch. Get them in charge of nutrition or tactics or management so they don’t have the feeling of being left on the bench. They should be integral to the running of the team.”

They were written by broadcaster Clare Balding. When I look at most of our autocuereliant presenters these days, my first reaction is usually to wonder where they put the batteries in.

So it is a refreshing change to listen to someone who is a real person not a robot and who treats her interviewees as human beings.

A sports reporter talking commonsense.

We can only hope it’s catching.