FORMER Sports Minister Kate Hoey today reiterated her calls for the introduction of safe standing areas, by declaring: "If they can do it in Germany, we can do it here."

Hoey, 55, asked the Football Licensing Authority to study new stadium designs in Germany in her role as Sports Minister 14 months ago.

At the time the MP for Vauxhall, pictured, bore the wrath of families bereaved by the Hillsborough tragedy and she was replaced by Richard Caborn in a cabinet reshuffle after last summer's General Election.

But Hoey, who had been Minister for Sport since 1999, is as determined as ever to help Roger Godsiff get his Private Members' Bill on safe standing areas debated in the House of Commons.

Hoey, who is one of the 74 MPs to have signed the Early Day Motion in support of the Bill, said: "The argument for standing areas will not go away. Hillsborough was an absolute tragedy but it resulted from poor crowd control.

"There is no reason why we can't have standing areas here like they do in Germany.

"With the flick of a button the standing area is turned into a seat for European games over there.

"What's happened in Germany in recent years is that the real fans have stood up, so it's nonsense to suggest that standing areas are for those that want to cause trouble.

"The Bradford fire came about because people were sitting down in wooden areas.

"If everyone was standing at Valley Parade that day not as many people would have died.

"It's definitely possible to get these standing areas in our grounds and I want local authorities to work with supporters to have the right to do so."

Last month, Saints chairman Rupert Lowe reacted to the FLA's monitoring of games at St Mary's by saying: "We have come a long way from the dark days of Hillsborough where fans were caged in.

"We need an intelligent debate about the whole thing but if our supporters want to stand then we should be able to give them what they want."

Hoey praised Lowe's stance for his stance on safe standing.

"Rupert Lowe has a real independence of mind that a lot of his fellow Premiership chairman lack," she added.

"I imagine he wants standing areas at St Mary's because it will improve the atmosphere and get more people into the ground.

"Mr Lowe is absolutely right when he says that it is time that we had an intelligent debate on the matter."