CAMPAIGNERS and politicians have demand prosecutions after a damning report into the Hillsborough disaster which laid bare a shocking cover-up that attempted to shift the blame for the tragedy on to its victims.

It also emerged that 41 of the 96 Liverpool football fans who were crushed to death at an FA Cup semi-final in Sheffield on April 15, 1989, could have been saved if they had received treatment earlier.

The families of those who died said the report, which contained previously unreleased documents, vindicated the fans and they pledged to pursue criminal prosecutions against those who, they claimed, should "hang their heads in shame".

Thousands gathered in Liverpool last night for a vigil to remember the victims, with Kenny Dalglish – the Anfield club's manager at the time of the disaster – helping to read out the names of those who died with the bell of Liverpool Cathedral tolling 96 times.

Dalglish, who went to the funeral of every person who died at Hillsborough, described the report as "very positive" after 23 years "waiting for the truth".

Margaret Aspinall, of the Hillsborough Families Support Group, told the crowd: "Today has been a very emotional day for all the families and everybody who was there. To learn that 41 of our loved ones could have been saved was horrendous. The fight will still go on for them."

Prime Minister David Cameron supported the calls for further action, telling the House of Commons: "After truth has to come justice."

Mr Cameron led a chorus of apologies – including from former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie, current Sun editor Dominic Mohan and South Yorkshire Police.

The Prime Minister said it was "shocking" that 116 out of 164 official statements had been "doctored" to remove or alter comments unfavourable to the force. He apologised for a double injustice of the "failure of the state to protect their loved ones and the indefensible wait to get to the truth" and the efforts to denigrate the deceased and suggest they were "somehow at fault for their own deaths".

The report said South Yorkshire Police and emergency services made "strenuous attempts" to deflect blame for the crush on to victims. Meanwhile rescue attempts were held back by failures of leadership and co-ordination. It found that "despicable untruths" about the behaviour of fans were part of police efforts "to develop and publicise a version of events that focused on allegations of drunkenness, ticketlessness and violence".

Police even carried out blood alcohol readings on victims, including children, and ran computer checks on some of them in order to "impugn their reputations," the report said.

The panel found no evidence to verify the allegations of drunkenness, ticketlessness or violence among Liverpool fans.

Attorney General Dominic Grieve is to decide whether to ask the High Court to quash the original, flawed inquest – which returned a verdict of accidental death – and order a new one.

Campaigner Trevor Hicks, who lost two daughters at Hillsborough and is a member of the family support group, said it would press for criminal action against those involved in the cover-up. He added: "We feel a breakthrough has been made. The truth is out today and the justice starts tomorrow."

The victims' families have always challenged the original inquest, which concluded all the victims were dead or brain dead 15 minutes after the game had kicked off at 15:00.

Through an analysis of post-mortem details, the panel found 28 of the 96 victims had no "obstruction of blood circulation" and there was "separate evidence that, in 31, the heart and lungs had continued to function after the crush".

David Crompton, Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police, said he had been shocked by the findings of the report.

He added: "I am profoundly sorry for the way the force failed and I am doubly sorry for the injustice that followed. I apologise to the families of the 96 who died and to all Liverpool fans."