A ban on standing at football matches � outlawed after 96 fans were killed in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster - should be lifted, the Liberal Democrats said yesterday.

A ban on standing at football matches - outlawed after 96 fans were killed in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster - should be lifted, the Liberal Democrats said yesterday.

Activists at the party's conference overwhelmingly backed a call to allow standing areas to be reintroduced at football stadiums in England, saying it would improve atmosphere.

They denied safety concerns, arguing nobody was suggesting a return to the terraces of old and that European examples had shown that "safe standing" areas could be a success.

Several delegates spoke passionately in favour of bringing standing back, with MEP Sharon Bowles saying it was about "culture, atmosphere and participation".

The party's culture, media and sport spokesman Don Foster said supporters were "getting a raw deal" and that "millions of fans deserve to have their voice heard".

Manchester MP John Leech said the Taylor report, which recommended the introduction of all-seater stadiums after Hillsborough, had "clearly misjudged the desire of fans to stand" and it was "frankly ludicrous" supporters were not allowed to do so.

But Lord Addington warned against the move, saying Taylor had "fixed" the problem of football hooliganism and that bringing back standing would "tamper with the mend".

"Think about where we came from, think about where we are - reject this motion because we are treading on very thin ice here today," he said.

However, delegates voted to back a policy which calls on the UK Government to "replace any regulations requiring spectators to be seated with new regulations clearly setting out standards under which safe standing can be licensed".

It says illegal standing causes conflict between supporters, clubs and authorities, and that grounds with both seating and standing areas see very little trouble.