NEW: The mother of a victim vows to continue the fight for a new inquest verdict "These families have suffered a double injustice," PM David Cameron says 96 people died and hundreds were injured in the crush at Hillsborough Stadium Liverpool (CNN) -- UK police and emergency services were heavily criticized Wednesday for their handling of a tragedy at a soccer ground in 1989 in which 96 people died, after an independent panel for the first time reviewed thousands of documents previously kept out of public sight. The report released Wednesday reveals serious failings by police and emergency services and casts doubt on the original inquest's finding of accidental death. The panel also says the evidence indicated as many as 41 of those crushed could potentially have survived. "A swifter, more appropriate, better focused and properly equipped response had the potential to save more lives," the report said. The tragedy occurred when thousands of fans were let in through a gate into an already crowded standing area, leading many to be crushed against metal fences and concrete walls. Horrifying images from the scene showed panicked men, women and children pushed and trampled with nowhere to go as police lost control of the crowd. Of some 25,000 Liverpool fans who had traveled to Sheffield to watch their team play, 96 never came home. Speaking at a vigil held in Liverpool Wednesday evening, Margaret Aspinall of the Hillsborough Family Support Group said the families' journey was nearly over but one more step remained: for a new inquest to be held. Anne Williams of the group Hope for Hillsborough said her teenage son Kevin was one of those who might have lived with appropriate medical help. She also insisted on the need for a new inquest. My son and 95 Liverpool fans did not die in an accident. They were unlawfully killed at the least," she said. Of 164 police statements that were "significantly amended," 116 were doctored to remove negative comments about the force's response and leadership, the report said. Those false claims have for the first time been traced back to South Yorkshire Police sources, Cameron said. The current editor of The Sun, Dominic Mohan, said in a statement released Thursday that the newspaper is "deeply ashamed and profoundly sorry" for having reported that untrue version of events. Twenty-three years ago The Sun newspaper made a terrible mistake. We published an inaccurate and offensive story about the events at Hillsborough. We said it was the truth -- it wasn't," he wrote. He said that while the panel found the language used in government papers at the time was "insensitive," it found no evidence that the government, then headed by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, tried to conceal the truth of what had happened. The current chief constable of South Yorkshire Police, David Crompton, said he is "profoundly sorry" for what had happened on April 15, 1989, and for what had followed. On that day South Yorkshire Police failed the victims and families. The police lost control," he said. In the immediate aftermath senior officers sought to change the record of events. Disgraceful lies were told which blamed the Liverpool fans for the disaster. Statements were altered which sought to minimize police blame. These actions have caused untold pain and distress for over 23 years. However, the force is "a very different place in 2012 from what it was 23 years ago," he added, and it is committed to being open and transparent as the panel seeks answers. An online archive of the documents is to be made available to the public beginning Wednesday. Sheffield Wednesday, which still plays at Hillsborough, also offered its "sincere condolences and an apology to all the families who have suffered" as a result of the tragedy, in an online statement. The impact of English football's darkest day lives on in the tributes still paid by Liverpool to its lost sons and daughters, husbands and fathers. But the tragedy also forced the sport to change on a national basis, and in a way still felt today, with stadiums modernized and made more family friendly, leading in turn to greater investment from sponsors and TV broadcasters. CNN's Christina MacFarlane reported from Liverpool and Laura Smith-Spark from London; Per Nyberg also contributed to this report.