The father of murdered schoolboy Rhys Jones has called for Liverpool to unite in memory of the 96 Hillsborough victims for the 20th anniversary of the disaster.

Stephen Jones, who supports rival club Everton, says everyone in the city needs to come together to honour those who lost their lives.

Mr Jones, whose 11-year-old son was shot dead by Sean Mercer (18), now serving life in jail, said: “I think it is important that the whole of Liverpool remembers the 96 and sticks together.

“I would like to see the whole of Liverpool unite — the reds and the blues — to remember those who lost their lives at Hillsborough.”

The father-of-two added: “There were a lot of hard lessons learnt at Hillsborough and there are still people who need to be brought to book. That disaster could have happened to any football club. Unfortunately it happened to Liverpool, but it could easily have been a tragedy concerning my club Everton.”