Hillsborough: The families of the deceased don't want to return to standing (DavidCannon/Allsport)

Despite Hoey being slapped down by her boss, Culture Secretary Chris Smith, she found some support from the man recently appointed to oversee the construction of the new Wembley, Sir Rodney Walker.

But those who lost loved ones in Sheffield 11 years ago,

when 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death during an FA Cup semi-final, reacted with real anger to the Minister's ill-advised comments.

'We challenge Kate Hoey to look us in the eyes as she attempts to explain why she is fiddling with safety in response to a vociferous minority of fans,' said Trevor Hicks, chairman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group.

Steve McMahon, who played in Liverpool's mid-field in the abandoned match against Nottingham Forest, told Soccernet : 'It is absolutely pathetic. We know all-seater grounds have taken atmosphere away, but safety is paramount.

'You are talking about going back in time. If you were talking about the Third Division for cost-cutting, then maybe, but not when you have Premier-ship stadia which are so safety-conscious.'

His former Anfield teammate John Aldridge, who contemplated giving up football after the tragedy, added: 'You can't go back to the past, not after what happened.'

Hoey provoked the outcry by saying she wanted to examine 'pilots of safe, designed standing areas - very small and very well controlled'.

She was impressed by a BBC Watchdog film detailing similar schemes being run in Germany.

But Hicks added: 'We denounce Hoey's insensitivity in making her pronouncements just as we, the bereaved families, face another Christmas without our loved ones.

'Despite being 11 years on, many of us dread this "family timeî and we have great difficulty in coping with it.

'Perhaps, as she sits down to Christmas lunch with her family, she will spare a thought for the 96 empty seats at our tables and reflect upon her statement.

'We will be seeking an urgent meeting with her and her boss to press the case for stopping this madness.

'We see no merit in winding back the clock and putting lives at risk. It is our view that there is no such thing as a safe terrace.

'Many said Hillsborough was safe, which we know now was not the case.

'We intend to campaign vigorously to ensure that this act of folly does not progress further.

'Kate Hoey may have forgotten the real horror of Hillsborough, but we have not and cannot.' Eddie Spearitt, whose son Adam died at the ground, added: 'What Kate Hoey said disgusts me. It is a smack in the mouth for all those who lost somebody in the tragedy.

'She wasn't at Hillsborough and didn't witness those terrible things. If she did, then she wouldn't be so callous and insensitive.

'Safety has to be the priority. We can never allow another Hillsborough to happen again. 'The standing areas may start off as small, but it would not be long before the fighting started again

- and then the fences would be brought back.

'My son was killed by those things and I never ever want to see them back.

'Nobody who was there that day would ever want to stand at a football match again.' Hoey's enthusiasm, however, was echoed by Sir Rodney Walker. The Leicester City chairman told TalkSport radio: 'I know that Kate Hoey is a Minister who listens to the fans - and the fans have never stopped saying that they wish there was some standing terracing available for them.

'I see people who stand up in every home game at Leicester when it gets exciting.

'For the moment, I have to work within the laws of the land and the national stadium, I suspect, will be an all-seater stadium. 'Whether or not, in due course, we see small elements of terracing return, we will have to wait and see.' Hoey's boss Smith, though, said: 'All-seater stadia are demonstrably safer than standing terraces, however they are configured.

'The Government's view remains that public safety is paramount and the Taylor Report had the last word on this issue.